Bring the Rain
by Macx
Summary: Chuck Hansen; arrogant, smart-ass, an egotistical jerk with a ton of issues. A Shifter like his father, just not an alpha; not a wolf. Well, not completely. Not on the outside. Chuck Hansen, koala Shifter. With a wolf inside, and a temper and the claws to prove it. Raleigh didn't really know what hit him when they came together; he just knows he won't let go. Canon divergence AU
1. Chapter 1

TITLE: Bring the Rain

AUTHOR: Macx

RATING: PG-13 to R

DISCLAIMER: None of the characters belongs to me, sadly. They are owned by people with a lot more money :)

FEEDBACK: Loved

NOTES: just before I went on my annual Ireland vacation I saw a picture on tumblr (and I can't post the link because FFNet won't accept it). It triggered this new interpretation of koala!Chuck.

So much Irish landscape got my dormant braincells going again.

This happened.

So sorry!

I'm not on tumblr, so I can't respond to all the wonderful koala art I see out there. So if any of you, who put such great art out there, read this, let me thank you for inspiring me to write more koala fic! You're amazing and talented and always, always manage to jump-start my brain out of writer's block and hibernation!

Thank you!

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1.

Science had determined that about 9.5 % of the world's population were Shifters; humans with a slightly different genetic code that allowed them to change their shape into that of an animal.

Throughout history, the Shifters came and went in society, just like any group or part of the population. There were those that sought solitude; others that mingled with humans. Some societies made no difference as to what a child was born as. Others raised a Shifter child's status to that of a gifted or chosen one.

In Ancient Egypt, Shifters had been believed to be gods. Today, centuries later, historians believed all the Egyptian gods to have been Crossbreeds; unable to Shift completely.

Some societies shunned the Shifters as cursed and evil. They were made into roadshow freaks and gawked at.

Times changed.

Shifters surged in numbers or suddenly disappeared. New subcategories came and went; older ones reappeared or could never be proven.

Water-bound groups only existed near or close to water; their kind reduced in numbers as time went on. Soon they were only found on remote islands or in areas where Man hadn't tried to form nature to his will.

Land-bound was the group with the highest variation in shapes. They flourished. The wolves were the strongest and most numerous, closely followed by subcategories of the lupine or canine nature.

No one had ever seen or heard of an air-bound form that was truly flight capable.

Even Shifters had myths and fairy tales. Some of them involved winged Shifters.

Shifters weren't an aberration or a mutation of the human form. They were just a variation like skin or hair color.

Each Shifter had only one Shifted form and it wasn't predetermined by nationality, gender or preference. While the form mimicked an animal and they had those instincts, some Shifters displayed a greater control over their physical forms than others. Tales and lore called them Weres.

Like wolves. Bipedal, fur all over a heavily muscled body, the head of a wolf; the werewolf myth had stemmed from that until Man had understood what Shifters were.

Sometimes, even with two Shifter parents with the same animal form, the child could become something else.

Just sometimes.

It was really rare.

They were fast healers and could come back from serious injuries with almost no permanent disability, had a high threshold for pain, and they were enduring.

Many were soldiers, officers of the law, worked in security, and went into jobs that suited their sometimes primal nature. It wasn't uncommon for those with a predator alternate form to be found at the frontlines.

Some nations or countries had a higher or lower percentage in Shifters. Some had whole tribes that had never had a human child in generations.

Some families were purists. In either direction.

Some families didn't care.

Like the Hansens.

A family of wolf Shifters, a pack that had formed around an alpha and his mate. Wolf genes were dominant and all children had always been wolves.

No exception.

Ever.

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2.

He had known.

He had known he had sent off his son, his only child, his only family – family that counted, Scott be damned – on a suicide mission.

Herc Hansen had known and it had taken everything inside him not to scream out his pain, grab Chuck and order him to stand down. The alpha in him had howled and demanded he protect his only remaining pack.

But he had let Chuck go.

He had forced himself to watch Chuck walk after Stacker, into the Conn-Pod, into quite certain death.

No man should have to watch his child die.

No man should have to go through the pain of survival at the cost of his family.

No man.

Herc Hansen had gone through it and it had torn him apart, had shredded his soul and buried a cold, sharp dagger in his mind.

Chuck had sacrificed himself to close the Breach.

No father should have to live with that, his son a hero, when it should have been both of them piloting Striker.

His arm.

This stupid, bull-headed decision to disengage from the feedback cradle, to try to reach the emergency power…

And he had paid for it.

Twice.

Herc had carried that weight, had lived with it through the tense hours of preparing for the final mission, Operation Pitfall, and there had been nothing he could think of to say.

All had been said.

All had been done.

He had demanded that the doctors help him with the injury, but even an alpha of his caliber wouldn't be able to heal a break on top of a dislocated shoulder like that.

Two days to get the bone hard enough to endure the stress of a Drop, three to make it last through a fight, though it would most likely break again.

They hadn't had that time.

Chuck had known.

Always known.

So had Herc.

It had made it so much more painful. Eyes swimming, the grief overwhelming. Herc had soldiered on, through it all, as the deputy Marshall in Stacker's absence

He had people to take care of.

He had a Shatterdome to run.

He had to.

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3.

Sasha Kaidonovsky was born into a pack of ovcharka and had all the instincts of the protective and guarding nature of these Shifters. It was only natural for her to follow family tradition and become a soldier.

She met her future husband Aleksis when she changed careers to a prison guard.

Like her he had been a guard.

Aleksis was tall, strong, silent, fear-inspiring and not the type of man Sasha had gone for in the past for hot, fast flings.

He was a Shifter. Not a dog or a wolf or a large cat. More like a weird mix of all. A Crossbreed. Neither one nor the other, but unlike other Crossbreeds able to fully Shift, fusing both sides into something new that didn't look like any animal to be found on Earth.

Human myth called his specific appearance crocotta.

He was an Ultra.

Aleksis had a temper and it showed in the flash of curved fangs, the change of his features as the Shifter pushed through. With Sasha, his aggression was finally under moderate control. She had calmed him.

He was a rock in her stormy sea.

She loved him passionately.

Their marriage only cemented the fact that they belonged together, that the pull they had felt from the first moment was more than a brief explosion of passion.

In 2015 they joined the Jaeger Academy to become pilots.

xx X XX x

Cheung, Hu and Chin Wei had always known that they were different, even among their own kind. Naturally born triplets were rare; for Shifters they were an exception. Their parents, both Shifters – both jaguars – had accepted their gift.

Cheung was the first to find his form and everyone expected his brothers to follow soon, to be a jaguar like him. Like his father, he was dark in color.

Chin came next, two months later, and his maki shape had others blink.

Hu completed the confusion by ending up a blackbuck antelope.

It only proved that origin and family didn't predestine the shape of a Shifter child. Nor did personal preference, temper or character.

Their parents loved them, no matter their forms.

They became famous street-fighters.

In 2015 they joined the Jaeger Academy to become pilots.

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When the Kaijus came, almost all pilot teams were made up of Shifters, Crossbreeds or those with the ancestral heritage of one. Stacker Pentecost was one of the few humans. He was a born pilot. Tamsin Sevier, his co-pilot, was the child of two Shifters who hadn't inherited the traits; born human.

They were one hell of a team. They kicked Kaiju ass.

In the end she lost the battle to cancer, not to a Kaiju.

Stacker got his diagnosis years later.

Bruce and Trevin Gage had been humans, too. Their grandparents had been Shifters, but their father had been born human and their mother had never had a Shifter ancestor. They were strong pilots.

Their loss was felt.

The Kaidonovskys went into the annals of history as the one team that held the longest neural handshake. Fierce and proud and dangerous.

The Wei Triplets were renowned for their fighting style that translated smoothly into Crimson Typhoon's battle moves. Enduring, fearsome, relentless and cunning.

The Shifters had had all those traits.

Drifting made them even stronger.

Still, death was something they couldn't beat either.

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4.

Finding a mate wasn't a primal instinct.

Finding a pack wasn't a necessity either.

Wolf Shifters, like other Were, were perfectly able to live normal lives even without a partner or a mate.

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Herc had met Angela in a bar. She was visiting with a circle of friends, apparently having a ladies' night. Herc had been enjoying his time off from the base.

They had hit it off.

They had talked all evening and he had walked her home.

Angela had given him her number and the weeks after, calls were frequent.

They had started dating.

He hadn't cared that she wasn't a Shifter. She was human, though she had Shifters in her family, but it had never taken with her. She had been born without the ability to change shape or even just a part of herself, like her eyes or skin.

Herc hadn't cared.

The wolf hadn't cared.

He had fallen hard for her and she had loved him, too.

x X XX xx

His parents loved Angela. She fit in seamlessly, uncaring of the fact she was becoming part of a pack of werewolves.

x X XX xx

They married a year later.

x X XX xx

On August 14th, 2003, Chuck was born and it was the happiest moment in Herc's live.

x X XX xx

When Chuck was a year old and showed no inclination to Shift, Herc couldn't have cared less. He knew there was a chance that he might not be a werewolf, that he might be something else because of his mother's side. Or that he could be a Crossbreed, able to never fully Shift into one form or another. Then again, he might have inherited more of his mother, might just be human.

The alpha wolf hadn't agreed to the last possibility. His son smelled like a Shifter.

x X XX xx

Chuck never had a problem with his father Shifting and never tried to copy him. He squealed when the huge wolf was with him, small hands clutching at the thick fur, loving it when his dad carried him in his arms in his bipedal form.

He was just as fond of his uncle Scott, who, a beta of the pack, was darker in color and slightly smaller. Scott lavished attention on the little boy and Chuck had him wrapped around his little fingers in no time.

x X XX xx

When his little boy grew strong enough to hold on to Herc, the alpha let him ride on his back. Herc could feel the joy, feel the strength in the small hands, in the young soul.

Chuck wasn't human. There was a wolf in him; it just hadn't found a way out.

Angela watched them with a fond, loving expression. When Herc curled up, the infant against his chest or between his paws, she laid with them.

Pack.

His mate, his son, his pack.

The alpha was proud.

x X XX xx

By the age of ten it was clear that Chuck had inherited the temper of the wolf, the fierceness, the fighting prowess. His instincts were spot-on.

He simply didn't Shift.

Until the Kaiju.

Until Angela's death.

It was the day that his eyes changed, that the wolf shone through.

x X XX xx

Herc had saved his son and lost his mate.

It took him almost a day to make it back from the abyss, from Shifting into his alpha form and snarling at whoever dared to come close.

There was no body to bury, no grave to mourn at.

Something inside Herc broke that day.

But he had a son to care for.

He had to go on.

x X XX xx

He would never have thought what came next was possible or that a Crossbreed like this could happen.

Because Chuck changed shape – into a koala.

Not a cuddly little koala bear, a marsupial that slept a lot and moved little, but something that would happen if you mixed wolf into the koala genes.

A sub-category of Crossbreed. A full Shift and still not a shape that was either a koala or a wolf.

Chuck was koala shaped, but a little larger than the average male koala. He was gray with a ginger back. He had big, fluffy ears, but he also featured something of a bunny-like tail. His paws showed claws that belonged to the wolf-side, with four fingers and a thumb, as opposed to the two thumbs a koala had. He was rather fast and agile on his feet, well-muscled, lean underneath the thick coat of extremely fluffy fur, and he had a set of fierce canines. His eyes would flash to wolf when he was furious and his bite was fearsome.

When a doctor examined him, he claimed that the trauma, the loss of his mother, had been the trigger.

Chuck Hansen was an Ultra.

x X XX xx

Herc and Scott joined the Pan Pacific Defense Corps not much later.

x X XX xx

Herc was among the first generation of Jaeger pilots. It was where he met Stacker Pentecost.

tbc...


	2. Chapter 2

5.

Helicopters churned through the cold, bleary morning. They were following the emergency beacons of two escape pods deployed from Gipsy Danger, as well as looking for the weak on-and-off beacon from a lone escape pod that had belonged to Striker.

x X XX xx

Raleigh and Mako were found alive and well. Both escape pods had protected them.

Cheers went up throughout the Shatterdome.

x X XX xx

The lead pilot radioed back to the Shatterdome that they had also found the other pod; charred but sending life signals. Herc closed his eyes, weary beyond words, hoping still.

x X XX xx

It nearly took the legs out from under the new Marshall when the crew aboard the rescue helicopter confirmed that Ranger Chuck Hansen was alive. Injured, in bad shape, but alive. His breath lodged in his lungs and he felt hands on his shoulder, pushing him into a seat. The pain from his arm was nothing compared to the emotional tsunami about to break through.

"Roger that," Tendo could be heard. "Medical is standing by."

Herc tried to push the raging emotions aside, but they would go. His eyes swam with tears he fought.

Chuck was alive.

"Herc?" Tendo's voice was soft but firm. "They're bringing him home."

He nodded. At least Herc thought he did. Everything was a blur and he couldn't think clearly. He knew he was trembling, that he was a mess, that he needed to be strong, be the Marshall everyone needed, but right now…

"Give us a minute," Tendo's murmur could be heard, talking to someone.

Herc had no idea who was still in LOCCENT and he didn't care.

"Herc?"

He looked into the dark, understanding eyes of his friend and Tendo smiled, reassuring, understanding, knowing so very much. He wasn't a Shifter, let alone had any dormant genes or ancestry, but he had always been a very good friend. He understood Shifter mentality, especially packs, and it was why he had been one of the most sought after LOCCENT officers.

Pilots listened to him.

"I…" Herc started, but Tendo stopped him.

"Prelim is that he broke several bones and got knocked around enough to bring back a serious case of concussion. They can't tell whether or not he has internal bleeding. He has burns and probably a hell of a lot of bruises, no radiation poisoning as they can tell. Medical is already at the landing zone. Dr. Weng Lee is standing by."

He nodded, taking in several deep breaths.

He wouldn't Shift. He wouldn't lose it. He would be strong, would be the Marshall they needed.

Chuck was alive.

Chuck was coming home.

There was a soft whine and Herc looked down at his feet where Max sat, looking up at him with his sad little doggy face. He woofed softly and Hansen gave him a scratch behind the ears. Max might be an animal, not a Shifter, but his instincts were spot-on and he had always been close to Chuck. The moment they had found the tiny, wrinkly bulldog puppy, he had been Chuck's.

"Hear that, Max?" His voice sounded rougher than usual. "He's coming home."

His arm ached and he winced a little when he moved wrong, but Herc had refused pain killers when the whole operation had started. They made him slow, clouded his mind, and he had had to be in shape for it all. Now he wanted nothing more than to sleep.

The instinctual part also wanted to Shift, to help along the healing since they were more resilient in their alternate forms, but Herc knew there was no time. He didn't have the leisure.

"Go down there," Tendo advised gently. "I've got it here. Take care of them."

All of them. Chuck and everyone else.

"Thanks," he rasped.

"Hey, he's family. We're family. Go."

Yes, they were. Pack, in a way. The alpha in him needed the familial way the Shatterdome had operated in the last months before the threatened shut-down. Stacker had understood the needs of his last pilots, too. He had catered to their needs, had made them comfortable, had given them the room and freedom. He had been an excellent Marshall. His loss would be felt.

Tendo was human, but still pack. They had worked together so long and so hard, trusting each other, Tendo the voice in his ear, that Herc had come to see him as pack.

Mako, a Crossbreed herself who could change her skin and hair color at a whim, had become pack through Stacker.

Raleigh… had been a problem, but not because he was a Shifter. Not because he was a predator himself. Not because he gave off vibes of a powerful beta who, if pushed, could be an alpha if needed.

No, it was because of the tension between Chuck and him.

A tension that had become more within a few days after Raleigh's arrival and something that had confused Chuck immensely.

Herc pushed himself to his feet, feeling exhausted, swaying a little, but he refused help. He left LOCCENT, each step more sure than the one before, and no one stopped their Marshall as he almost ran toward the helicopter landing pad.

Everyone had heard that Chuck Hansen had made it out of the nuclear blast zone alive.

Everyone prayed.

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6.

Chuck had always been a handful, a boy thrown into a war that was too much for him to really handle. Trying to be the best, the brightest, to surpass those older and more experienced than him. Chuck had fought so very hard to be the best Jaeger pilot out there and he had succeeded.

He wasn't ashamed of being a wolf in a koala's body, that he wasn't a werewolf like his family had always been. He was a fighter. And he was really a wolf, he had told his father.

He fought the name-callers and opposition.

Too young to apply for a regular Academy spot, too young for the Kwoon, too young for everything. On paper.

Still he had known more about Jaegers and Drifting than most senior pilots and all of the rookies at the Academy. He had aced his courses, had been someone to be reckoned with.

Herc had been proud.

And he had been worried.

Chuck showed everyone just what he was made of. He was one of the best pilots, incredibly young but driven. Just a few years ago they wouldn't have accepted him due to the fact that he was underage.

Desperate times…

His boy had never been a real teenager. He had stopped being a child when his mother had been killed by a Kaiju. Now he was twenty-one and his social skills were limited to the interaction with military personnel and Jaeger crews.

x X XX xx

When Chuck met Aleksis for the first time, he wasn't intimidated. He refused to be intimidated by anyone or anything, always pushing back his fears and apprehensions. He would take on whatever came his way, take charge.

Aleksis was an Ultra like him.

In a way they found a common ground over that fact.

It wasn't like Chuck could learn anything from the older pilot in the way they Shifted into something that wasn't easily categorized. It wasn't like Aleksis could earn anything about Drifting.

Still, being an Ultra Crossbreed connected them.

x X XX xx

Herc was insanely proud of his child, even more so when they were Drifting and their thoughts merged. He felt the wolf in him, he felt his own alpha react, and Chuck would have made a strong beta to a pack. His pack. If Angela was still alive, if Scott wasn't persona non grata.

As it was, Herc Hansen was a lone alpha, a strong leader, but not with his own pack. There was only Chuck left.

Chuck, who had gone down to the Breach and who had been ready to give his life.

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7.

When Chuck Hansen met Raleigh Becket, sparks flew.

And insults.

And fists.

Herc hadn't been sure at first, but it became clear within forty-eight hours of Becket's arrival that his son had switched off his brain and let his primal nature guide him in those confrontations.

Becket was a white malamute, called simply a White. Whites didn't run in packs like wolves. They had small family units that broke apart when one married and had his new family. While the malamute had a variety of colors, Shifters always looked white. Only their noses and eyes stood out, black and gleaming.

Whites were only found in the northern regions of the North American continent.

Whites were loyal and brave and good soldiers.

Raleigh, his brother and his sister, as well as their parents had all been Whites.

Now Becket was clashing with Chuck, his only child, an Ultra who looked like prey in his Shifted form and behaved like a strong alpha-beta anyway. A Shifter who was a wolf inside, who didn't accept limitations, who was damn good at what he did.

And Becket was responding. As was Chuck.

It was an explosion in the making.

x X XX xx

Chuck had been hostile from the beginning, pushing all the right buttons, trying to rile up the other man.

Yes, Becket had allowed himself to be pushed and he had pushed back, but in a way that had told Chuck that there was a limit. That Becket could take him down and keep him down. That Raleigh Becket wasn't a washed-out has-been.

He was a strong beta. He was a White. He was a fighter.

Herc had cornered Mako about the fight in the hallway, had gotten her take on it, and he knew that Raleigh had held back, had moved with the ease of a Kwoon martial artist, and that he could have hurt Chuck a lot.

He hadn't.

x X XX xx

Of course Chuck's first meeting with Raleigh Becket had been a confrontation from the first word he had uttered. Of course he had tested the waters, had pushed and prodded, and he poked and provoked. Of course he had looked for the weakest spot and attacked.

And Raleigh hadn't really reacted.

Until that fateful moment in the hallway.

Herc had to smile reminiscently. Chuck had gone into that fight thinking he was superior, that he had everything it took, and he had come out of it fuming and spitting fire, confused that he had lost, humiliated by a man he had underestimated.

It was the very first time for him.

As first times went, it had crashed and burned spectacularly.

Raleigh and Yancy Becket had been successful Jaeger pilots, had been heroes, and Chuck had aspired to be like them. He had wanted to be young and daring and handsome and a hero.

Then Yancy had been killed.

Raleigh had left the program.

It had hurt; more than anyone could understand.

Herc did.

They had the Drift for him to understand such things, though it hadn't been hard to see at the time. At sixteen, just about ready for his own, first Drift, Chuck had been dumbfounded and hurt by Raleigh's decision. And he hadn't understood why.

Herc wondered if he wouldn't have done the same if his own brother had been ripped out of a full Drift in the middle of a fight.

He probably would.

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8.

Herc was there when the survivors were brought in, the helicopter landing in a storm of water and debris. Medical personnel was swarming the area and Herc barely saw a glimpse of his son before he was rushed off into the Shatterdome to the ER. He was about to follow when a commotion close by caught his attention, briefly distracting him.

x X XX xx

"I'm fine!" Raleigh almost-snapped at one of the nurses.

He was struggling to get to follow where the nurses had wheeled Chuck.

His expression was almost feral, furious that he couldn't get to the other pilot, and Herc quickly moved forward. Raleigh's eyes held a too intense look, too inhuman to be less than a warning, and the alpha took over, pushing back his own worry. Herc was aware that this was an explosion about to happen, one they didn't need, and he was the fucking Marshall right now.

Whites weren't prone to sudden bouts of unfounded aggression, but this wasn't unfounded. This was Raleigh trying to get to Chuck, trying to fight his instincts and failing. After everything that had happened, all the pain and stress and near-death moments, it wasn't really that surprising.

The nurse wasn't deterred, his hands firm, his expression stern and unwavering. Herc wondered who had chosen the guy as an Emergency Response Unit member, because he clearly didn't see the blatant warning signs. A doctor was suddenly right in Raleigh's face.

Mako moved before her co-pilot could Shift and do something he might regret, her face sharper, her eyes intense.

"Raleigh," she only said and he froze, but the growl was audible.

Herc snarled a soft curse. He knew the other man had been under an immense pressure in the past hours since the Breach had been closed. The stress and the adrenaline, and now the sight of Chuck injured and bleeding, had Raleigh on edge, fighting tooth and nail for something that was still new between him and Chuck.

Then the emergency crew blocked his field of vision again.

Chuck had by now disappeared inside the Shatterdome, hurried to the emergency unit.

That launched a new round of struggling and from the looks of it, Raleigh was close to doing something very violent.

"Let him be!" Herc barked in his alpha voice that easily carried over the hubbub around him.

The doctor and the ERU nurse startled, shooting him surprised looks. He knew his eyes were flashing and his voice had taken on a distinct growl.

Raleigh, recognizing the alpha in his commanding officer, met his eyes, looking more like the Shifter he was, and visibly struggled no to just give in and Shift, lope after the stretcher.

"Get a grip, Becket," Herc ordered, staring hard at the beta. "Chuck is being taken care of. Go with them, get checked out. Understood?"

The answer was almost automatic, a jerky nod, the younger man looking ready to snap if an alpha didn't take control of his emotions. Right now, despite not being a wolf, Raleigh responded to the need to have someone lead.

Herc felt a familiar ache inside him, felt a wave of empathy. He knew what Raleigh felt, though it was on a different level, but he knew. He so badly wanted to run after his son, wanted to be there, wanted to reassure himself that his boy was going to make it, but he had to diffuse this situation first.

Raleigh drew a shuddering breath. By now he was running on adrenaline alone.

"Do you understand, Ranger Becket?" Herc asked again, infusing his voice with a little more wolf.

"Yes, sir."

Mako was by his side, nodding her reassurance that she would stay with her co-pilot.

"Then go. Now."

And they went.

Distantly Herc noted that his hands had taken on a little more wolf quality, sharp claws trying to push through, and he willed the Shift to recede.

The doctor had already started after Raleigh, followed by the nurse who shot Herc a last, cautious look.

Herc drew a deep breath, the sharp winds nipping at his exposed skin as another helicopter landed. Water was whipped up and he ducked back inside, ignoring whoever was around him.

He needed to be with his son.

tbc...


	3. Chapter 3

9.

Chuck's back collided with the wall and Raleigh crowded close, hands fisted in the gray shirt. He was breathing hard, aching from where he had hit the ground after Chuck had managed to surprise him with a rather dirty move.

The other man's eyes flared golden-yellow, the snarl too much wolf to be ignored, and the canines were a final clue.

Raleigh felt himself react, the White rumbling an answer to the challenge, and he let the Shift rise.

Chuck's fingers curled around his wrists and Raleigh snarled, lips pulling back from over his own canines.

The Crossbreed surged forward and suddenly their lips collided.

Not in a bite.

Their mouths collided in a kiss that was far from gentle. It was possessive and spiraling out of control, like the whole encounter. The kiss was hard, almost harsh, expressing pent-up anger and energy, and Raleigh went with it without thinking. One of his hands was suddenly in Chuck's hair, the other curling around the slender waist. He lost himself in the contact, the taste and smell, restraining himself not to go too far just yet.

x X XX xx

It went very far, very fast not soon after.

Raleigh felt like he had lost control, that he was thrown into a maelstrom of want and need and utter lust. He had never felt like this before, certainly not after Yancy's death. The emotions were overwhelming. He pulled Chuck against him, biting at his neck, and it had the other man arch and hiss again.

"Goddamnit!"

Muscles clenched around him and Raleigh spilled, unable to control himself any longer.

His teeth left an imprint in Chuck's skin, but he didn't break it.

x X XX xx

It was satisfying, in a sense that Raleigh hadn't experienced this intensely and deeply before, almost carnal as it coursed through him, to see Chuck in his slightly too big shirt the next morning. He was in sweat pants, bare-footed, and Raleigh's long-sleeve t-shirt.

_Mine_, Raleigh thought before he could catch himself.

When he did, he felt a bit horrified.

He had never been that possessive that quickly before.

Never.

Actually, really, never. He had never felt something this hot and devastating with a bed partner.

_Fuck, that's not good_, was all that went through his sleep-heavy mind as his eyes tracked Chuck's movements. A much larger part appreciated the play of muscle, the mussed-up hair, the morning stubble.

No, that wasn't good.

Not at all.

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10.

Herc had known that he and Chuck would be perfectly Drift compatible. They were family and they were wolves. They were pack.

The first time he stepped into his son's mind, he had nearly been blown away by the strength the younger Hansen radiated. Of course Herc had known that the wolf was there, underneath the deceptively cuddly koala shape. He had seen Chuck fight; all his life.

Against prejudice.

Against his own temper.

Against everyone and everything.

Chuck Hansen was a wolf through and through.

They made an indomitable team; they were the best. Chuck was proud and sometimes too arrogant for his own good, but he had every right to be.

More kills than anyone.

The best Jaeger.

Unbeaten.

Herc knew his pride was there for everyone to see and the alpha dared anyone to challenge them.

There were rumors that they could only communicate through the Drift. He heard them, he knew who talked about them behind their backs, but he didn't give a flying shit.

They did communicate. They might have a barrier outside the Drift because Chuck wasn't a born wolf, but they managed.

In the Drift there was no hesitation.

In the Drift there was only them, one person, a union of minds.

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11.

No one had questioned his presence in the infirmary. The nurse on duty had taken one look at the haggard looking, unshaven, pale features and ushered him into a waiting area. Tendo had dropped by, giving him a brief report on matters, then promised to take care of everything.

"The world's one big party right now. And should the PPDC call, or the United Nations, I think I can keep them off your back for a while."

"Patch them through if they don't shut up," Herc said with a tired sigh.

"Will do. Any word?" Tendo asked cautiously.

"Too many cuts and bruises to count. Severe concussion. Burns. Leg's a mess. Broken ribs and fractured wrist."

Shifters healed well. Chuck would be able to get through this, but it didn't appease the alpha. Herc wanted to wolf out, wanted to prowl through the infirmary and defend his wounded pack mate, his son, his strong beta.

As it was, he was more in control than that. He was better than that.

Choi gave him a reassuring squeeze, then hurried out again.

Feeling exhaustion weigh heavily on his shoulders, Herc hoped to find some coffee, but there was none. What he found was an empty coffee pot and so the current Marshall of the Shatterdome went about making coffee.

It actually tasted rather good.

With the mug in hand, Herc waited for a nurse to appear and asked about his surviving pilots. She guided him to Raleigh and Mako's room. Both were tired, bruised and battered and Raleigh's eyes looked haunted.

"He's okay," the other pilot breathed the moment Herc walked in. It was as if Herc's presence was reassurance enough.

The Marshall gave him a tight smile. "Yeah."

Raleigh sagged a little.

Mako squeezed his hand. She appeared as pale as her co-pilot and just as exhausted.

"Get some rest. Both of you."

Raleigh looked about ready to protest, but Herc simply met his eyes, letting the alpha bleed through.

"Understood?"

"Yes, sir," Raleigh answered dutifully.

"We will, Marshall Hansen," Mako said, sounding almost formal.

Herc raised an eyebrow, then just smiled briefly and left them alone. He needed to be with his son.

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12.

Herc had been acutely aware that Raleigh and Chuck had something. The sheer tension between them had been almost palpable, a living, breathing thing. It had been what pulled them toward each other.

Do or die.

Or a variation of that.

In the end, they had clashed in a different way.

Electricity in the contact.

Herc had watched it with the sharp eyes of the pack alpha, the father, the wolf. He had smelled the change, had seen the sudden ease and respect, and he had almost laughed when he had discovered matching bruises on both men.

Bite marks.

Yes, his son was a wolf.

In so many ways.

Raleigh was no alpha, but he wouldn't roll over and accept Chuck as one either. These were two headstrong betas and the alpha in Herc rumbled, pleased with the outcome.

Even if he got to see a lot more of them together than he should have to witness.

All that animosity in Chuck, the old pain that had surfaced, had gone up in a spectacular explosion… and evaporated into nothingness.

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13.

Being with Chuck was… a battle, a fight, never easy, but so worth it.

Raleigh enjoyed himself, wanted more of this man, and he knew that they fit together. He might call them mates in his head, though he would never say it out loud. What he did was keep an eye on the other man, stretching his senses, test how far he was aware of him when they weren't together.

It was almost like the sense he had had of Yancy, though Chuck was far from a brother. He also didn't fill the dark hole inside Raleigh's mind.

Nothing could.

Not even a mate.

But being with Chuck eased everything.

x X XX xx

Raleigh cupped Chuck's face, stroking his thumbs over the stubble, rough against his finger pads.

"I need you, too," he said softly.

This had hit him hard and fast. Out of nowhere. Wham!

Something about Chuck Hansen had buried itself deep within his broken soul, hard pushed away at the shields and layers of pain and guilt, and it had settled down.

For good.

To stay.

Within just a few days of being in Hong Kong.

Raleigh knew that was how his parents had met, how his father had known that this was it for him. It was why he had completely fallen apart when his mate had died. Cancer had taken her from him and he had simply… given up.

From one day to the next he had left, abandoning his two sons to go wherever he had gone. Raleigh hadn't heard from him since.

To think that Chuck, who wasn't even a White, who wasn't even close to what might be called a trigger to Raleigh's instinctive behavior… to think he was that person for him…

Raleigh wondered.

Because what they had, while still combative and furious in a way, it was good. Really good.

And it was growing in leaps.

x X XX xx

And then Operation Pitfall went all the way to Hell and Chuck barely made it out alive.

It almost broke Raleigh.

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14.

He might have cried the first time the doctors had let him into Chuck's room, giving him the necessary privacy, after rattling off the list of injuries.

Broken leg; surgically taken care of.

Cracked ribs.

Broken wrist.

Burns, bruises, lacerations.

Concussion.

Chuck looked… alive. Pale, swathed in bandages, orange, antibacterial fluids bright orange against the skin, IVs running into him, but alive.

Herc couldn't take his eyes off his son.

It was a miracle.

A goddamn miracle!

He knew he should be out there, taking care of the Shatterdome, of the people, but he couldn't. Right now he was only himself, a father, and somehow he didn't give a flying shit if that made him a bad Marshall or not.

Nothing aside from a new Kaiju attack was more important than Chuck right now. Tendo had fielded calls left and right, told people to give Herc some room, and kept the Marshall up to date with more official matters.

Herc had wanted to hug the man, but all he had managed was a weak, thankful smile.

He curled his fingers carefully around Chuck's good hand, mindful of the IV lines leading into the back of his hand, thumb brushing over the dry skin, catching on the edge of the tape keeping the needle in place.

Stacker had given him the greatest gift in life. He had saved his son. He had piloted Striker alone as he had detonated the load.

Thank you, Herc thought, briefly looking at the whitewashed ceiling. Wherever you are, my friend. Thank you.

x X XX xx

Around him, people partied.

x X XX xx

He wouldn't leave Chuck's side.

x X XX xx

He might have dropped off there for a minute.

Maybe two.

Maybe several hours.

Herc came around to a whisper of his name, of a clumsy touch to his face, and he jerked up, suddenly wide awake.

His arm screamed abuse, his head pounded, but he didn't care.

Chuck was awake. His boy's eyes were open and, while clouded, he looked rather conscious. There was confusion there, probably over the fact that his father sat at his bedside.

"Dad?"

His voice was hoarse, dry, cracking, and Herc didn't think his own sounded any better when he whispered Chuck's name.

Fingers weakly squeezed his own.

"Hey," Herc managed.

He wanted to laugh. He wanted to cry. He wanted to thank God or whoever had kept an eye on his boy. He wanted to hug his child. He wanted to hug the world.

Right now he just sat there, his face hurting from smiling so widely, and his eyes swam badly.

"Made it," Chuck murmured, tongue heavy.

"Yes, you did, son. You're a bloody hero."

The blue-gray eyes filled a little, intense despite the exhaustion, and his fingers squeezed again.

"Others?" he asked.

"Raleigh and Mako made it."

"Pentecost…"

Herc shook his head.

"Saved me…"

"He saved everyone."

_He gave you back to me. He gave me everything back._

For hours he had believed that the future would be like this, broken, shattered glass underneath his bare feet, cutting into him, tearing him apart. Hercules Hansen had walked along an edge that he wouldn't have minded falling off into the abyss. He would have gladly gone.

He would have let the alpha take control and just… leave.

Some Shifters took that path, giving in to the animal side, to the instinct. Without his son, Herc's last ties would have been broken.

And then hope and life had returned.

"Dad…"

Herc couldn't remember a time in the past years when his son had been this open, this… no, not vulnerable. Chuck had never been vulnerable. Brash, young, overconfident and cocky, but never vulnerable.

He smiled shakily, leaning over his only child, so incredibly happy to be alive, to have Chuck alive, to have the world. He knew the next days, weeks, hell months and even years, would be bad for everyone. The world had to learn to breathe again, to hope again, they had to rebuild, but right now, he didn't give a shit.

"Water?" Chuck begged.

"I have to call the nurse," Herc replied.

There was a moment of panic as he started to move away, the bruised face so young and open, no shields hiding the youth and fear, and Herc smiled reassuringly. He squeezed the hand weakly but desperately holding on to his.

"I'm not going anywhere, son."

He pushed the call button, then carefully carded the fingers of his free hand through the spiky hair.

No, he wouldn't go anywhere.

Chuck closed his eyes, fighting emotions, fighting tears, and losing. Herc brushed the wet tracks away, feeling his own threatening to spill.

"You'll be okay," he murmured. "We'll be okay. All of us."

He kept talking softly, Chuck still desperately holding on to the only anchor he had: his father's hand.

When the nurse came in, he didn't let go. He accepted the small sips of water, answered the questions about pain and his general condition as best as he could, then was given a bit of pain medication to take the edge off the pain in his leg and ribs. The nurse smiled reassuringly at Herc, then slipped almost silently out the door to give them their privacy again.

Everyone knew to leave the Marshall alone right now and whoever was running interference, medical personnel or his officers, Herc thanked them silently. He was too close to the edge, his primal side in protective mode, the alpha on the brink of taking charge.

It had been a long time since his last, emotionally triggered Shift. He had been young and brash and hot-headed, and his father, his alpha, had almost torn him a new one over his loss of control at the age of sixteen.

Over a girl.

Ever since Herc had worked on keeping himself under control. Always.

Even with his only child in a hospital bed after surviving the near-end of the world.

"New Marshall, hm?" Chuck whispered, eyes heavy. The words got him focused on his son again, pushing the darker urges away.

"Got that right, kid."

"Alpha." Chuck smiled, then his eyes slid shut and he fell asleep again.

Herc stayed, caressing the skin on Chuck's hand and arm.

His boy was alive.

tbc...


	4. Chapter 4

15.

Herc had spent most of his night hours with his son, sleeping either in a chair, which did nothing good to his back and neck, or in the extra bed one of the nurses had finally wheeled in on day three after the Apocalypse hadn't happened.

Being the Marshall of the Shatterdome meant a pile of work, but he had a very capable Chief J-Tech and LOCCENT officer by the name of Tendo Choi. Then there was Mako Mori, who knew the Shatterdome inside out, had learned from the best, and who had immediately offered her abilities to take care of Jaeger matters.

Drs. Newton Geiszler and Hermann Gottlieb, while being their charming, bickering, snarking selves, did a commendable job keeping themselves out of trouble and their science division running.

Newt had Shifter ancestry, but he was unable to shape-change. Some joked that it had to be along the line of squirrels. Others had teased that if he would ever be able to choose, he would want to look like a Kaiju. Hermann was a Shifter. Aside from anyone who might have access to his personnel file, only Newton knew that he could Shift into an African wild dog.

He never did it outside his personal quarters.

And sometimes, just sometimes, he would curl up next to Newt in bed, sharing body heat and comfort.

It was a moment of utter trust and complete privacy.

Herc knew he would have to talk to them about what had happened inside the Drift, and he knew there was something he didn't know about them yet.

Later.

He would address that matter later.

x X XX xx

Chuck's Shift, instinctual and not at all coordinated, didn't really surprise those who had worked with injured Shifters before.

It happened.

It helped heal.

It happened when the Shifter in question was aware enough to initiate the change of shape, when the body was ready to take on the challenge to heal the injuries. In their Shifted form, Shifters were healing faster, though the danger that was inherent in a shape-change couldn't be ignored.

Sometimes instinct undid everything a doctor had done. It opened stitches, could undo transplants.

In Chuck's case a few stitches tore, which were quickly taken care of. The nurses rebandaged much smaller limbs, adjusted the cast on his broken leg, and liberally bathed him in antiseptic.

Herc held his injured son, eyes swimming with tears, and he knew he wouldn't leave him here. The doctors agreed that he could take him home if his condition remained stable.

His alpha would take care of him.

And Herc did.

Their quarters were safe. It was where he could protect, where everything smelled and felt… right.

Shifting into his full wolf form, he curled around his son. The koala reacted instinctively, whimpering a little as he clung to the thick, ginger fur.

Instinct was all he relied on. Herc knew it. He felt his own rise.

Protect.

Defend.

Heal.

He would keep vigil for now. The alpha knew there were others depending on him, on his leadership and strength, but for a little while he just wanted to be a father.

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15.

The first time Chuck Shifted and showed Raleigh his alternate form was six hours before Operation Pitfall would commence. He was still in shock over his father's injury, angry at himself, at the world in general, at whoever crossed his path.

Raleigh was one of those.

It ended with angry words and finally a hard, angry kiss that released pent-up emotions and had Chuck sag a little.

Raleigh sank down with him and suddenly there was the koala. The more feral looking version of a koala, with sharp claws and teeth and wolf eyes and more muscles and strength and agility…

And Raleigh Shifted, too.

x X XX xx

When Herc walked into their shared quarters, it was to the sight he would never forget. His arm hurt, from elbow to shoulder, and he was in a pissed-off mood, but that changed immediately.

It was almost beautiful to see a White curl around a wolf-koala Crossbreed, broad tongue washing his face as the koala in question snarled and tried to push him off.

Herc had to bite his lip from laughing out loud.

Raleigh swiveled his head, those black eyes on Herc, and while he wasn't in a completely submissive pose, he didn't challenge.

Chuck just climbed onto the thick fur, curling up, and gave his father a challenging look. Lips raised slightly over wolf fangs, the expression in those not-koala eyes challenging.

Herc smiled and settled on his bunk to get the rest the doctors had ordered – and which his body needed.

Chuck grumbled and Raleigh huffed a little laugh, then nosed at the fluffy ear closest to him. It got him a snarl and a bat against his nose, though Chuck didn't swipe with his claws. Raleigh just licked over the gray face and Chuck made a noise of outrage.

Herc felt himself relax.

Even with Operation Pitfall looming on the horizon, being with his pack eased his tension just a little.

His pack. His son and his son's… mate.

There was no mistaking what the two were heading for, which made it all the more painful to know what was about to happen.

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16.

Raleigh walked into the alpha's quarters, aware that if Herc found him to be a threat to his injured beta, he wouldn't just kick his ass. There would be teeth involved.

Still, here he was.

Looking at the large, ginger wolf.

His own, instinctual side didn't actually cower and put his tail between his legs, but he actively kept himself as neutral as possible.

A beta respecting another alpha.

Herc was huge. Chuck looked small in comparison, even though comparing a koala to a werewolf was ridiculous to begin with, but Chuck wasn't simply a koala. There was a lot of wolf involved.

"Marshall," Raleigh broke the silence, voice respectful, stance almost at attention. "Tendo asked me to inform you that your presence will be needed soon."

Herc rumbled, clearly not ready to leave his son.

"I offer to watch over Chuck," Raleigh added, very conscious of how thin the ice he was on actually was.

Chuck and he weren't mated. Chuck and he were just… whatever it was they were. He would never hurt the other man, but he wasn't pack; he wasn't one of Herc's; not family.

The wolf rumbled again, clearly drawn between telling the world to shove off and doing what a Marshall had to do.

In the end he let duty overrule instinct.

Raleigh didn't relax his stance as the wolf Shifted into Herc's human form.

"Call Medical if there's anything that doesn't sit right," Herc ordered. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

Raleigh nodded. "I will. I promise."

Herc's eyes, still those of a wolf, bore into him, like trying to look into his soul.

"He's my son, Becket," was all he said.

Raleigh nodded again.

Understood.

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17.

They barely had any time before Chuck had to be in Striker's Conn-Pod, before Raleigh was expected to make the Drop with Mako.

They kissed, gentle, soft, loving.

Chuck looked into the blue eyes, saw the White in there, heard the soft whine that was barely even rising, and he knew his own eyes were Shifting, too.

He wanted to make it out alive.

For his alpha.

And for Raleigh.

"Chuck…"

"I know," the Crossbreed simply said, then gave the other Shifter a last kiss. "Let's kick their ugly asses back to where they came from."

Raleigh smiled dimly.

x X XX xx

Saying good-bye to his dad… it was even harder. It broke him; tiny pieces of glass embedded in his chest.

This was his alpha. This was his pack. He and Herc had been a perfect team with an amazing kill score. No one had been as in tune as they had been, though the Kaidanovskys held the record of longest neural handshake.

Chuck was convinced that he and the alpha would have been able to break that record.

Trust was an incredibly large part of Drifting. Giving up your walls, dropping shields, letting the other mind inside.

He had done all that and more. He had become beta, strong and reliable, the best of the best. Outside the Drift they might be snapping at each other sometimes, there might be glares and posturing, but that was normal for such a small pack that consisted of alpha and alpha off-spring.

Chuck would defend his alpha to the very end; no one would take on Herc and not get Chuck going for their throat.

So knowing he was about to head down to the Breach, with a new co-pilot and leaving his father up here, it hurt.

It was agony.

It was his own personal nightmare.

And it was terribly, horribly wrong.

x X XX xx

Stacker wasn't his co-pilot and could never be, but right now he had to adjust to that. He had to get Striker Eureka down to the Breach and detonate the payload.

They had to make this happen; he had to.

Even if it killed them.

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18.

Chuck woke curled up in a familiar bed.

What he wasn't familiar with was the sight of his stubby little not-koala-tail in front of his nose. His black, spoon-shaped nose. His white, furry tail.

Huh.

Ears twitched. Koala ears. Gray and big, with white tufts. His nose itched and he rubbed it, feeling a little dizzy. He lifted his head and looked around, confirming that he was truly in his own room at the Shatterdome.

What…?

And then he saw the bandages.

Lots of them.

There was hardly any pain, but that only meant good painkillers and Shifter physique.

Blinking, looking around, Chuck smiled when he saw Raleigh sitting in a chair, reading.

He made a little noise that would have been a 'hey' in human language.

Raleigh looked up and the smile was blinding. The blue eyes shone with what could only be happiness and relief. He put the book aside and walked over to Chuck, perching himself on the edge of the bed.

"Hey," he replied, voice soft, filled with lack of sleep and too much worry.

Lots of worry.

_I Shifted_, he thought. _Must have been bad._

Making a general gesture with his good paw – the other was wrapped tightly and ached a little – Chuck asked without speaking.

"You don't remember?"

He frowned, trying to.

Memories flooded back and he shivered. Fragments of blurry pain turned into vivid recollections of an agony spreading from his leg, his ribs, his wrist, and encompassing everything.

Operation Pitfall.

The Breach.

Pentecost.

Chuck knew he must have made a sound, and you wouldn't ever get him to admit that it sounded pained and distressed and almost panicky.

Raleigh brushed gentle fingers over his head, not coming close to the injuries.

"Stop moving. It's okay. You're good. Are you in pain? Should I get a doctor?"

Chuck shook his head and he knew he would also deny trying to get closer to the solid strength Raleigh projected. He wanted to curl up, just bury himself in white fur and forget the nightmare he had just crawled out of, The Breach.

As if he had read his mind, Raleigh undressed, simply throwing his clothes onto the ground, and then there was a White on the bed with the koala, curling up carefully, and Chuck buried his head in the familiar softness.

Raleigh sniffed at him, then snorted softly and licked one ear before he settled down.

Chuck closed his eyes.

Safe.

Warm.

He listened to the soft breaths of his companion, felt his warmth, smelled the unique scent, clean and like spring, and all of his relaxed.

He knew he needed a lot more time to heal, that he wouldn't be able to Shift for a while, but right now he couldn't care less.

tbc...


	5. Chapter 5

19.

When Yancy had been yanked from the Drift, from the most intimate connection between two individuals, part of Raleigh Becket had died. It had turned black and shriveled and finally turned to dust.

Yancy had been his brother. He had been family. And he had been his co-pilot. Nothing could compare to all of this, the Drift coupled with the Shifter instinct of family and what a werewolf would call pack. Whites had no packs, but the family unit was just as strong.

He had lost all that. He had lost the mind that resonated within his own, the soul that had complimented him. He had lost the one who had understood him more than anyone.

Mako had seen that loss and she hadn't even tried to fill that hole. No new Drift partner could, no matter how compatible. The loss was there.

The black hole.

The damage.

The nightmares.

Raleigh had lost himself in the work to build the Anti-Kaiju Wall. He had lost years.

Of his life.

Of everything.

He had simply existed, Shifting at night to curl up in a corner and forget the world. Forget who he was, where he came from.

It hadn't really worked.

He had been torn between worlds. He hadn't been the White nor had he been the human. He had been a stranger to himself, alone with his thoughts, hearing echoes of the part of Yancy that had been left behind.

Ghost whispers, they called it. Shadows. Impressions.

For Raleigh it was a piece of his brother.

Sometimes he had caught himself talking to the ghost. The last thoughts of another mind, always the same words, repeating and echoing in the darkness.

Sometimes he had cried, howling when he was in his Shifted form, and sometimes he had thought about ending it all.

x X XX xx

And then there had been Chuck. A koala-wolf Shifter; an Ultra Crossbreed with an attitude problem. Fierce and annoying; arrogant and powerful; intense and fiery.

Something inside Raleigh had sat up and taken note. He had focused his attention on the Crossbreed, drawn between fury and confusion, between anger and attraction.

For the first time in five years he had looked away from the abyss.

Chuck wasn't Yancy; he didn't touch his soul like his brother had. He wasn't that person for Raleigh.

He was someone else.

Strong, independent, powerful, and with a dangerous mouth and an even more dangerous attitude. It sparked something in Raleigh, gave life to what he had considered a blackened, dead husk of his former self.

Chuck was getting to him, though not in a bad way.

More intimately, though there was nothing more intimate than the Drift. No, this was deeper than a connection forged by the Pons.

This was ingrained into his Shifter side.

Chuck was…

His.

The White had staked a claim on him and Raleigh hadn't really known it at first. He had been so numb, so invested in his own suffering and pain, haunted by the ghost of his brother, that the strange emotions had taken a file to filter in. He had had to sort through so much new information, too many emotions, that it had more or less stalled his brain.

Chuck and him, they had never Drifted. They had only ever fought, Chuck antagonizing him until they had collided.

Hotly.

And it had been like something warm and dark finally uncurling inside Raleigh, giving him reason to go on.

And more.

He had started to feel so much more.

Mako had known because of their Drifts. She had looked at him, smiling that knowing smile.

"Your instinctual side knows, Raleigh Becket. Trust yourself."

Five years of numbness were hard to overcome, but the cracks in his armor had widened, had grown, and finally Chuck had shoved it all away, going straight for his very core.

Finally Raleigh had trusted himself to feel.

He had let go of the pain and accepted the darkness, moving into a future that might be short-lived,

x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx

20.

Chuck knew that he and Pentecost could Drift, though they were far from completely compatible. Yes, the Marshall brought little with him into the Drift. He simply flowed into the connection, almost neutral, but Chuck saw enough to understand.

_Sick._

_Dying._

_Soon dead._

_Damn cancer._

_Mako. His pride. His joy. His little girl._

_His future and his legacy._

And Chuck knew what Pentecost would see of himself. He could almost taste the surprise as the dark eyes of the older man met his.

No words were spoken.

They Dropped.

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21.

Herc came back to Raleigh in his Shifter form, on Chuck's bed, the koala sleeping soundly against the White.

Raleigh's black eyes were on him and he flicked an ear, then slowly eased away from the koala, who only grumbled sleepily and tried to bury in the warm spot where Raleigh had been.

"I should…" Raleigh made a general gesture. "Go," he added.

He was already pulling on his clothes.

"You're allowed to come by, y'know," Herc told him. "He'll be glad to have someone to take his mind off his leg and ribs. He'll be off the pain meds soon and he'll be a handful, I gotta warn you, but I'm sure you know that already."

Raleigh froze, eyes widening a little. His eyes Shifted, which told Herc how much it had surprised him. The Marshall was silent, just watching, aware of the thoughts racing through the blond.

The alpha had just allowed him… to be with his injured son. To be with Herc's pack.

It hadn't been difficult for Herc to interpret the emotions from his son when they had Drifted again. Herc had been silent regarding the jumble of emotions-thoughts-instincts. But he had been right. He had known for sure then.

"Bring a few movies. He's easily entertained." He winked at Becket, who looked a little flustered.

The White just nodded, then left quickly, clearly at a loss with his own emotional responses and Herc's words. He didn't have his tail between his legs. He never would.

But he was confused and flustered.

"Damn, kid," Hansen said softly, looking fondly at his son. "You picked him. He chose you."

Chuck might be a little shit, he might be mouthy and spoiling for a fight, but this wasn't a battle. Not the way it usually was, with a young Crossbreed pilot trying to show the world he was a damn hero, that he was the best and would always be the best, that he would beat all the odds, would kill every Kaiju he was faced with. This wasn't the Jaeger pilot with eleven kills under his belt.

Well, thirteen now.

This was a young, strong beta who was faced with a new kind of battle.

This was his son.

And Herc would be damned if he didn't want what was best for the little asshole.

The choice to Shift wasn't really a conscious one, but it was the right one. The alpha licked over the gray head, then curled completely around the koala and closed his eyes.

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22.

Chuck woke to the rare sight of his father in his full alpha Shifted form. Ginger fur, gloriously full and with touches of brown along his back and around his paws, the four-legged form sleek and dangerous, Herc Hansen was a sight to behold.

Chuck had always loved his father's wolf form.

As a child he had snuggled into the warmth and softness, had listened to the strong heartbeat, the slow, even breathing, the occasional rumble.

Now, lying in an infirmary bed, feeling like a Kaiju had chewed him up and spat him out, Chuck reached for the dark brown fur and smiled when his fingers brushed over it.

Blue eyes, so unlike a real wolves, opened.

Herc nosed at his hand, then pushed his head under the weak grasp.

Two beds, Chuck realized dimly, still too much on painkillers to think straight. Herc was resting on a second bed that had been pushed right next to Chuck's.

Herc huffed softly, so close Chuck felt his body heat, felt every rumble.

It felt good to be with his alpha.

He wanted to Shift, curl into the larger form, but he knew he couldn't. He would tear stitches and re-break healing bones.

"Dad…" he mumbled.

The alpha huffed and briefly rested his muzzle against Chuck's neck.

The younger man smiled sleepily.

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23.

The Apocalypse hadn't happened.

The world could breathe again, could live again.

New heroes had been born.

Deaths were mourned.

In the Hong Kong Shatterdome, life went on, though the tension of before, the end-of-the-world feeling, no longer existed. Routine had changed since there were no more Jaegers, though the PPDC was far from shutting down the last remaining Shatterdome.

There were plans.

For now, Herc had only one worry: his son.

x X XX xx

The Chuck Hansen in koala shape was still a smart-mouthed little shit with an attitude problem, but it was a different kind of shit he gave Raleigh now.

And Herc was slightly awed by Raleigh's patience and persistence

He wanted to pin a medal on that man. He really deserved it for putting up with all of that.

He was also pretty sure Chuck could have changed back, but he hadn't because he was comfortable, felt safe and at ease.

x X XX xx

Herc walked into the room to the sight of a large White curled up around a rather disheveled looking wolf-koala. Chuck's fur was still standing on end from so much disinfectant that he looked like a punk. The disinfectant had left the gray fur a pinkish orange on top of that and it was an almost humorous sight. The shaved parts were wrapped in bandages. His paws were fisted into Raleigh fur and his face smooshed into the fluffy ruff.

Raleigh cracked one eye open, then flicked an ear and simple huffed softly before closing the eye again. Chuck muttered and buried deeper into the warm fur.

Herc felt himself smile and backed out of the room again. It wasn't the alpha retreating, it was the human. The alpha was simply happy, rumbling softly.

Chuck had survived. That was all that counted. Right now Herc didn't care if Chuck would ever be able to pilot a Jaeger again. He had his boy back, thanks to Stacker, and he would forever be grateful to the man.

x X XX xx

Raleigh licked over one ear and Chuck made a protesting sound of disgust.

He didn't try to get away, though.

His paws, one wrist almost healed, grabbed the white muzzle and he stared hard at Raleigh.

_Stop the fuck with the tongue_, the glare said.

The black eyes danced and the broad tongue swiped over his face again.

Chuck batted at him and tumbled back a little, his fall cushioned by the big, warm body of fur.

Raleigh huffed a laugh and buried his nose in the soft belly. Chuck grabbed a large, thick ear and tugged hard.

_Ra-leigh, you bloody fucker!_

Even though they didn't talk, there was an understanding. It was in Raleigh's softening expression, in the way Chuck answered the non-verbal question. His small, taloned paws stroked over the muzzle again and he placed his own against it for a second.

The meaning was clear.

They both meant it.

tbc...


	6. Chapter 6

24.

It took a week for Chuck to be able to Shift without tearing the healing wounds open again. It showed him just how bad it had been.

x X XX xx

Chuck had never been a good patient. With the death of his mother, becoming the youngest Jaeger pilot in PPDC history, Drifting with his alpha, showing the world he was strong and wouldn't break, stints in Medical weren't his strong point.

Actually, he avoided being cooped up there like the plague.

Post-Drop exams were hell.

He was fine. Nothing wrong with him. He Drifted like a pro and a few scrapes and bruises weren't worth the time it took the doctors to treat his boo-boos.

Chuck hated to be incapacitated, to be helpless, to rely on others for simple tasks. That the one he would now rely on was no other than his father, and later Raleigh, didn't change the fact that he was biting the hand that was trying to help him every step of the way.

His wrist was okay if he didn't turn it wrong, his ribs he could live with, even if he had to take shallower breaths, but the leg was just bothersome.

So he snapped and snarled and bit at Raleigh. He was attack-happy, like a cornered wolf, and his temper was on a very short leash.

Herc he deferred to, though with reluctance, but Raleigh was free game.

It was a small miracle the other Shifter didn't just turn on his heels and leave the wolf-koala to fend for himself.

x X XX xx

Herc sent them on a two month enforced vacation, with the option to extend it if there was any need.

To recover.

To heal.

To sort out what they had away from the Shatterdome, away from the alpha.

x X XX xx

"You should come," Chuck said as he threw some clothes into a bag.

He still looked a bit pale, but he was moving almost as fluidly as before. The limp was barely there. His wrist was mended, the scars looking good. Medical had given him the green light.

Herc shook his head. "This is for you."

Chuck's expression was serious. "You need it, too, Dad."

"Later. You and Becket go figure out what this is between you two."

Chuck blinked and Herc had to smile.

"Uhm…"

"Go," he repeated.

His son turned to grabbing more clothes, busying himself with anything but looking at his alpha. He finally walked toward the door, then stopped again.

"Dad…"

Herc only gave him a little smile and Chuck mirrored it, then he was off to wherever he and Raleigh had planned to go.

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25.

The first time Chuck walked into the kitchen of their vacation home, twenty bloody miles to the next town and so far off the beaten path it wasn't funny anymore, he stopped and blinked.

Fucking stopped and blinked.

Raleigh stood in front of the stove, flipping pancakes. There were blueberries in a bowl. And strawberries. There was orange juice in glasses, toast, two glasses of jam, butter, hard-boiled eggs, and it smelled of bacon.

It was insanely domestic.

Chuck had to grab the other man and kiss him. He didn't know why it affected him so badly. Scent memory maybe. Trauma-related wishful thinking. His survival of the Apocalypse, of a nuclear blast, of the End of the World (tm).

All of it together.

Raleigh grinned into the kiss and pulled back to push the pan off the hot stove plate.

"I take it you want breakfast?"

"I want bloody coffee and then we talk about you playing kitchen chef."

Chuck kissed him again before he stepped back, emotions running amuck.

"Fuck, Rah-leigh… What got into you?"

Raleigh shrugged. "I felt like it. It's been a long, long time since… well… any kind of normalcy."

He had gone into town to shop alone. For some reason he seemed to have gone a little overboard, but who was Chuck to complain?

The coffee was hot and strong and just the way he liked it.

The pancakes were to die for.

And if Raleigh's eyes lingered on him a little longer now and then, Chuck smirked into his coffee. He knew why. He was wearing one of Raleigh's shirts again and he knew what it did to the White.

So he did it on purpose.

And because they felt nice.

Like Raleigh.

"Don't tell me: you knit, too?" he teased when the first cup of coffee had settled into his bloodstream.

Raleigh only smiled warmly.

Something inside Chuck unfurled, filling him with a strange kind of nervous energy at the sight.

This was his. Raleigh was his.

Fuck, it was good.

x X XX xx

Chuck discovered that a White was perfectly camouflaged when buried in a white duvet. Only his black nose gave away his position.

Or a gray lump of koala curled up with him on the bedspread, enjoying the afternoon sun that shone through the windows on the king-size bed.

Paws twitching as they slept.

x X XX xx

Yes, this place was close to the end of the bloody world, or at least the continent they were on. It was in the middle of nowhere, ten miles onward past the 'Here Be Backwater' sign post. Even the town Chuck couldn't remember the name of consisted only of a gas station with a supermarket, some sleazy roadhouse bar, and three houses that gave a new definition to 'derelict'.

It was the best place to be for two heroes who wanted to be left alone.

They were the only ones for miles around, and even if someone would have been there, it wouldn't have stopped Raleigh from Shifting and running.

With a koala clinging to his back like a furry gray jockey on a huge White.

It was a sight to behold.

x X XX xx

The sun painted a deep orange over the water, the clouds that had come in burning in purple and orange and a dark blue. Chuck looked up into the evening sky, the breeze ruffling his hair. It was still warm, a perfect summer day.

Summer usually came in a burst of warmth and blooms and sunny skies, only to be chased away by the autumn storms that threatened to bring snow too soon for many who lived here.

Right now there wasn't a whiff of changing seasons.

Laying together, naked as the day they had been born, Raleigh traced a scar on Chuck's body, kissing it softly, tasting salt water and sun. Fingers carded through his wet hair, lazy, tugging slightly, and he obediently sought out the wet lips.

There was grass underneath them, a sandy beach not far away, and no one but them to enjoy the lazy day. Raleigh had run here and jumped straight into the surf, Chuck's protesting screech in his ears.

A wet koala, even one with wolf traits, looked comically funny.

So did a drenched White.

Chuck caught the wandering hand and his eyes fell on Raleigh's own set of scars, almost delicate and like an intricate tattoo.

Electrical burns.

From the Drivesuit.

He leaned over and kissed the lines on his left upper arm, then on his chest.

Raleigh sucked in a breath.

Chuck met the blue eyes, smiling.

The wind tousled his lover's hair, made it unruly and wild. Raleigh looked younger, relaxed, free.

They both had their scars, inside and out, and he loved every single one on the other man.

A burst of affection ran through Chuck's mind and he shivered, feeling so much he had never thought he could.

x X XX xx

They went back as the sun set, Raleigh trotting along a narrow path, Chuck on his back.

If he looked deeply enough, under all that white fur, there were the dark lines of the scars. His taloned paws clutched at the fur, digging in so he wouldn't slide off, but he didn't hurt Raleigh. White's were truly thick-skinned and their pelt protected them.

No, the scars were there, but they didn't hurt.

Not any more, Raleigh had once told him.

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26.

Raleigh lost no words as he approached the couch Chuck had claimed to watch satellite TV and enjoy a lazy, slightly drizzly afternoon. He had pulled a gray hoody over the long-sleeved, black shirt he had chosen, and he was only wearing his sweat pants. No shoes, no socks. The White made himself comfortable, head on Chuck's lap.

Chuck didn't push him away; he simply accommodated his lover. He ran his fingers through the blond hair, still damp and dark from the shower, the strands silky and clinging to his skin.

He pressed a kiss onto the damp hair.

Raleigh caught the caressing hand, pulled it to his lips and kissed the soft skin of the wrist.

He finally closed his eyes, dropping off into sleep no five minutes later. He lay with his face almost pressed against his lover's stomach.

Chuck kept watching

Raleigh slept on, dead to the world, a softly snoring log of obliviousness.

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27.

Everything was silent around him. Not absolute silence. Not the absence of any kind of sound, just… more silence than he was used to.

The Shatterdome was never without any noise. There was the human noise; there were the machines. There was the hum of the whole dome, the chatter of human voices, the clang of metal, the high-pitched whines, the crackling and sparking of tools.

Never utter silence.

Like right now.

Raleigh Becket hadn't had this kind of noise absence in almost eight years. He had grown up in Anchorage and while some people liked to joke about the wilds of Alaska, Anchorage wasn't a small town. It was also never silent.

Nature, yes. He and Yancy had spent hours playing outside. He had loved it. He had loved being away from people, watching the landscape, listening to the wind and the water and the trees and the animals. Winter had been the time when the noise had seemed to be buffered, like wrapped up in a thick cloak, the snow taking the harsh edge of some sounds. He and Yancy had driven out in their snowmobiles, chasing each other, out-doing each other, the noise deafening as the engines whined, but in the end they had sat together, watching the snow and the mountains, the occasional bird.

It had been… comfortable.

The Shatterdome had been different. Noise everywhere. And he had loved it.

He had never missed the silence, just like he had never suffered from the noise.

Until the day Yancy had been ripped out of the Drift and the silence had become oppressive.

Deafening.

Crippling him.

Working on the Wall had thrown him into more noise, more distraction, and it had been good. Not really healing, but enabling him to cope.

Returning to the PPDC, living and working in a Shatterdome again, hadn't been any different.

But this here…

It was deafening in its own way.

The silent landscape, the soft light creeping over the horizon, and the whisper of wildlife.

x X XX xx

"I knew you were going to be high maintenance," Chuck grumbled as Raleigh came back inside to the smell of coffee. "What was I thinking?"

The other Shifter was barely awake, looked tousled and still sleep-warm, his movements haphazard and slightly uncoordinated.

"The sex is okay," Raleigh quipped.

"Okay?!"

Now Chuck looked more awake.

"Didn't want to brag and say I'm fantastic in bed."

Chuck spluttered. "You're so full of yourself, Ray!"

"Pot, kettle."

Raleigh leaned against the kitchen counter next to Chuck. He leaned over and stole a kiss.

"You didn't have to get up."

"The furnace you call a normal body temperature was missing."

"It is a normal body temperature," he pointed out, slightly tickled by the fact that Chuck had missed him. "It's simply pretty cold at night right now."

"Supposed to be summer." Chuck muttered.

He smothered a yawn and Raleigh erased the thoughts about adorable and cute. It would get him killed. Instead he drew the other man close, content with feeling the lean, hard form against him.

"And you made coffee," he murmured.

"Good coffee."

"Hm. Share?"

Chuck frowned as if he had to think it through, then offered his mug.

Raleigh kissed him again, then took it and sipped. Yep, the coffee was really good.

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28.

When he arrived at the beach this time, he was awaited by a White sitting in the sun-warmed sand. The glossy fur shone in the sunlight and Raleigh radiated warmth. He looked like a fluffy white cloud and Chuck had to smile despite himself.

"You didn't Shift a lot in the past years, hm?" he asked, a teasing note in his voice.

It was something he had suspected for a while now. Raleigh was mostly his human self in their vacation home, but once they were outside, he was the White.

And Chuck gave up and just Shifted into his wolf-koala form. It was nice to be able to stretch his legs like this, to work on muscles he didn't need as a human, and the play-wrestling was fun – even if he was hopelessly lost when a huge, white malamute got the jump on him. Without employing his claws to hurt, Chuck was unable to get out from under the heavier Shifter.

Though biting at the huge paws was allowed. His teeth sank into the fur and he spat out tufts of it, never actually reaching the skin. The nose, snout, eyes and ears were off limit. Chuck had only once pulled at a fluffy ear, without leaving any injury, and it had gotten him out of a tight spot.

Raleigh gave a snorting little huff. His tail thumped twice.

"Of course not." He sat down next to the White. "Well, aside from moping in a corner, right?"

The Shifter next to him flicked an ear and tilted his head.

"Yeah, figures. Work by day, mope in White form by night. Call yourself lucky you remembered to be human."

Raleigh grumbled a little.

"Not sayin' I wouldn't have done the same, y'know," Chuck murmured, eyes on the waves rolling in from the ocean. "Losing my alpha like that, throughout a Drift, would've driven me mad."

It was the first time they talked. Well, he talked. Open and with shields down. Both knew there was pain there, in each other, but they never voiced it.

It was a first for them.

Raleigh snorted and butted his head against Chuck's shoulder, then pushed a warm nose against his neck. Chuck smiled and hugged him briefly, enjoying the warm, solid presence.

Raleigh suddenly rolled on his back, exposing a soft belly, looking very relaxed and at ease. Chuck's fingers itched to run through the fur, pet Raleigh. The way the White gave him an upside down grin, Raleigh was very much aware of that. His tail thumped again and he rumbled, paws twitching, and Chuck gave in.

He started to run his fingers through the thick fur.

It was a glorious feeling.

The sky was a perfect blue. Clear, barely any clouds – just a hint of white painted across the azure – and the sun was shining brightly. A fresh breeze came in across the ocean. Tiny flowers were blooming everywhere, a rage of colors among the gray stones. The sea was calm, almost peaceful, and near the horizon a fishing boat was silhouetted against the sky.

"So, what's the plan for when we return?" Chuck broke the silence between them.

Raleigh suddenly changed and in one fluid move settled over the other Shifter. He pushed him flat on his back. Blue eyes, serious and intense, met Chuck's.

"I'm yours."

Chuck felt a shiver run through him. The question had been innocent enough, but Raleigh, fuck him, had known where Chuck was coming from.

What happened when they got back?

What would they do? The Breach was closed, the last Shatterdome still running, but for how long? Did Raleigh want to stick around, because Chuck would be where Herc was. Herc was his alpha, he was family, he was his father.

"I'm yours, Chuck," Raleigh repeated. "Wherever."

Bloody hell, why did he have to talk like that? Why did he have to be so damn sexy and desirable and… edible!

He wrapped a hand around the strong neck, pulled Raleigh down, kissing him hard.

"Stop doing this to me!"

"Not doing anything," was the smug reply. "All you."

Raleigh grinned, looking smug and self-assured in a way that Chuck found even more attractive.

"Fuck you, Becket."

"Love to."

Chuck groaned. Why… just why did he have to fall for this guy? He blamed the inner wolf. He blamed his Crossbreed genes. He blamed his dry spell. He blamed Becket for being Becket.

Raleigh, who was busy kissing a warm path down his chest. Raleigh, who was smug as hell and knew just what he was doing. Raleigh, who brought him off with a shaky cry, spilling into the hot mouth.

Gazing at the other man, watching him lick swollen lips, Chuck knew he would fight to keep this. Always. Against everything. He caught that sinful mouth, kissing Raleigh, hands finding the evidence of his lover's own arousal. He took care of that.

Slowly.

Torturously.

Using his considerable skill and clever fingers to find the right spot and have the other Shifter writhe and beg.

x X XX xx

They lay together afterwards, Chuck feeling the stirring of a new arousal as he spooned close to the White. He didn't follow it, though.

The way Raleigh pushed back, bearing his neck a little, that thought derailed pretty fast.

"Raleigh…"

"Yeah?" came the innocent questions.

Those blue eyes literally sparked with hunger and amusement.

"You won't be able to walk after I'm done," he promised, hands sliding over Raleigh's lower back and toward his ass.

"Promises, promises."

Bloody hell, don't do that! he thought as the words flowed through his mind, accompanied by the warmth and need and lust that seemed to be triggered by the other Shifter.

x X XX xx

"Sticky," Chuck murmured.

It got him a grunt.

"Shower?"

"You move first."

He smiled and slid his fingers into the messy, blond hair.

x X XX xx

They made it to the shower eventually.

tbc...


	7. Chapter 7

29.

Raleigh knew he was damaged goods.

Inside and outside.

Yancy's ghost was still with him, every hour of every day, a shadow he wouldn't ever be able to lose.

Sometimes he heard whispers.

Sometimes he just felt him; there. Like in a Drift.

Raleigh Becket had brain damage.

The doctor who had treated him after he had dragged himself out of Gipsy's dead shell had told him it was from the feedback, that it would most likely never go away. He had called on a neurologist, who had told Raleigh the same, just with a lot more medical babble.

Raleigh had left then.

With Yancy's ghost looking over his shoulder, whispering, murmuring, sometimes whole words filtering through. Last thoughts and fragments of a mind Raleigh had known as well as he had known himself.

His other half.

x X XX xx

Coming back to fight had been like a chance for redemption, to prove he wasn't a total wreck, though the voice had never really left him in the five years working on The Wall.

Chuck had pushed all his buttons and while Raleigh understood where he came from, it had triggered a response.

Today he knew the response had been instinctual, too.

He had found what he had been looking for.

That the other man didn't see him as much more than a liability, someone who might kill them all, because he had been out of the game so long, because he was scarred and broken, had been a thought lingering with Raleigh.

Chuck had had every right to see him as a liability. The mission had been set up, Striker had been the chosen Jaeger, and suddenly there had been Raleigh.

Five years out of the game, out of a Jaeger.

The guy who had been a hero and who had run away, hiding in the mass of workers.

Stacker's back-up plan that could just blow up in their faces.

Yes, Chuck had had every right to be pissed off and suspicious.

Raleigh knew many saw him as the hero of the day after Operation Pitfall, but truth be told: they all had done their share. They were all heroes. Some more than others, and he didn't see himself as one of them. He had survived; that was all he had done.

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30.

It had been a while since Hercules Hansen, alpha werewolf, had let himself Shift and just run.

Not the full Shift to his wolf form but the bipedal, fully furred one with a wolf's head and claws, hard, corded muscles underneath ginger fur.

Fast, deadly.

His fighting form.

With the Shatterdome almost abandoned due to the celebrations, the need of everyone to go home, find family and friends, reunite to laugh and share tales of heroism but also of pain, there was just a core unit left.

Herc, as the acting Marshall, and with no family but his son, had opted to stay behind. Tendo would be back within a week. Herc had almost had to twist his arm to get him aboard the helicopter.

Hermann was still here, as was Newton. They hadn't applied for leave, nor had they asked for a transfer or to even leave PPDC services, as some had. Both men were happily holed up in their shard lab, neither asking for one of their own, living off each other in the way they had ever since they had met ten years ago.

Symbiosis.

Herc smiled as he loped off into the old service tunnels. Silent, almost dark, not forgotten but fallen into disuse, they were the perfect place for his senses to stretch, for the werewolf to be himself.

He ran, he jumped, he went above and underneath obstacles, slashed at what barred his way, tore into metal and questionable material, enjoying the raw power.

Herc never really lost track of who he was, nor what time he had spent in this form, and still it felt like an eternity.

He surfaced throughout nightfall, in his full wolf form, dirty, grime in his fur, tongue lolling, and feeling incredibly happy.

Trotting around a corner he caught a whiff that was quite familiar and he huffed a little as he caught the pale tip of a tail disappearing around one corner. He easily caught up with the tail, which was attached to the lean, almost lanky form of an African wild dog. The irregular, mottled coat was an almost artistic rendering of black, brown, white, and yellow fur patches, like a painting splashed over the Shifter's form. Like a tattoo. A huge, natural tattoo. Big, rounded ears turned and the yellowish eyes widened a little.

Seeing the Shifter was a rare occurrence and Herc tilted his head a little, trying for non-threatening. Considering he was a lot bigger, an alpha, and the Marshall, it was a bit more difficult.

"Uh, hey, Marshall," a human voice could be heard.

Herc had picked up the scent of this particular man a while ago. Newton was a mixture of Kaiju, nervous energy, excitement and contentment. It was an odd combination that always surrounded him, sometimes intermingling with something a lot more intimate that Herc usually ignored should it hit his sensitive nose in this Shifted form.

"Running?" Newt guessed. "Well, yeah, I guess you were. Hermann and I were just…" He gesticulated. "Well, taking a walk, actually."

Hermann made a soft rumbling noise.

"Not walkies! I mean, he knows that, right? And I know it! Stop being so sensitive, Hermann!"

The Shifter glared at his human friend.

Herc chuffed a little laugh. He had seen Hermann twice in his Shifter form in all the time he had known the man, and he had known Gottlieb for years. This was a big deal, mostly because it showed his leg injury in all its naked glory. The scars on the hind leg couldn't be ignored.

Herc could smell the old injury, knew there was pain there, which meant, for a Shifter with healing capabilities surpassing a human's, this had been crippling. It would have cost Hermann his leg if not for his abilities.

Newt reached over to scratch one rounded ear, finger sliding lower into the longer hair at Hermann's neck.

"Let's finish our round, okay? I was looking forward to those brownies. And I just know there's ice cream left in the fridge somewhere."

Hermann made a yipping sound, then looked at Herc, who had sat down on his haunches, non-threatening, at ease, just watching a rare moment.

Newt gently tugged at the ear he had been caressing. "Let's leave the alpha to his territorial walk, Herm."

Gottlieb rolled his eyes, then gamely walked off, a limp in his step, but he moved a lot smoother than his human form normally showed.

Newton just gave a brief wave, then followed.

Herc continued down another side corridor, amusement running through him.

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31.

The pitter-patter of rain was a soft background noise. Sometimes the rain strengthened and the noise changed into one of a tiny waterfall rushing down the roof. The wind howled around the lonely house at the edge of the beach lot, but it was sturdy and the miserable weather wouldn't tear off the roof.

x X XX xx

Chuck looked adorable, curled up in their shared bed, his face buried in Raleigh's pillow, sleeping deeply. The American would never say it out loud.

It would get him killed.

Or badly mutilated by a koala.

Chuck refused to be called cute or adorable or fluffy; any such nonsense.

Still, Raleigh couldn't but think of that.

Happiness.

This was happiness. This was what it was like, after the pain and the loss, after living with the shadow of Yancy for the past five years. The ghost was still there, but no longer so painfully intense. There was no longer the echo of Yancy's death, the sensation of the other mind ripped from the connection and erased from existence.

No longer a dark abyss.

This was…completion.

It meant he had become part of a werewolf pack, with a strong, dominant alpha, but Raleigh somehow couldn't care less. He realized that Herc would be protective of his only family member, but wolves weren't ferocious by nature. They were only dangerous to those threatening them or their pack. They loved their offspring, they cared and they were gentle.

Sitting next to the Crossbreed, studying the young, smooth feature, Raleigh felt the instincts to protect. It was innate in Whites; they were protectors. No pack, just family bonds, but fiercely protective.

Chuck was his.

He wouldn't let him anything happen to him ever again if he could help it.

No that Chuck was weak. Far from it. He was a very strong and also very stubborn man.

Powerful, Raleigh mused. Sexy. Wonderful. Graceful.

Laying down next to the wolf-koala Shifter, he heard a soft whine coming from his throat as he nuzzled against Chuck's side, content and happy.

Chuck murmured his name, slurring it mostly. He rolled closer, seeking more warmth, and Raleigh kissed a patch of exposed, very warm skin.

x X XX xx

For all the bad weather yesterday, it was a sunny, though not very warm day today. The day had started out with a fog hovering over the land, obscuring the trees and the rocks and the beach. It had been beautiful to watch, with the sun fighting its way through the mist and finally clearing the air.

They went on a hike, in their Shifter forms.

Chuck wasn't a waddling bundle of fur. He had enough wolf in him to have strong legs that allowed him to run, not just climb and settle down for a twenty-hour nap.

Still, he didn't say no to a ride on a large malamute who bounded happily up a hill.

Communication in their Shifter forms was limited, though they had something going. Werewolves had an almost empathic connection and Chuck had always been able to catch a few things from his alpha, even though he wasn't a werewolf. The wolf gene helped.

Whites weren't like that, so they had come up with their own way.

Chuck flexed his claws and looked over the landscape they were running through. It was a nice day, cool and clear now that the fog was gone. They were heading for the hilly area that they had explored before, and Raleigh was wearing a backpack made for working dogs, which contained food, their clothes, and water bottles.

Even with a koala on his back, the White didn't seem to be bothered by the weight he was carrying.

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32.

They had known each other for over a decade now. Hermann had resisted the very notion that he might like the unconventional, completely different from him scientist. Newton Geiszler, a man with six doctorates, a distressing amount of Kaiju collectors items, a love of loud rock music, and an unlimited energy that supplied a spirit Hermann thought of as unbreakable – Newton wasn't like Hermann at all.

He was unconventional. Loud. Overly enthusiastic in his chosen field of the day, though mostly it was Kaijus now.

He was a slob. Messy.

He was a Kaiju groupie, for god's sake!

And still, the very idea not to share the lab with him was unthinkable. It was almost physically painful.

It was never going to happen.

Hermann had tried it once.

It had backfired and he had suffered like he had lost pack.

He swallowed. While not a werewolf, the African painted dog was a pack animal. Hermann hated crowds, he wanted to be left alone to work in peace, but at the end of the day… he severely missed company.

He had been the first Shifter in several generations of Gottliebs. His parents had been slightly perturbed, which would translate as 'utterly shocked' in anyone else.

Not a Gottlieb.

Composure. That was what it was all about.

Hermann had grown up as an outsider in so many ways. He had wanted to be a pilot, not a scientist, but that dream had been shattered. He had thrown himself into science with a vengeance, shutting out everyone else, everything else.

Getting his leg nearly crushed hadn't helped either. His Shifter nature had insured that he didn't lose the leg, but the scars inside and out were painful.

His shields had only grown stronger.

He had pushed everyone away, satisfied when they turned and left, escaping his sharp tongue and barbed wire remarks.

Then Geiszler had stepped into his life. A man who had a brain and intellect that rivalled Hermann's. A man who tattooed his skin, who claimed they were the rock stars of science. A man who was utterly fascinated by the monstrous things coming from the Breach. A man who didn't back down and didn't give up on Dr. Hermann Gottlieb.

Newton… Newton had become more than a colleague. It had happened too fast, too intensely, and he still didn't know how his logical side had been so overrun by instinct.

Sometimes he hated the Shifter side.

Looking at the man happily working with his tablet, a holographic Kaiju body part hovering over it, Hermann felt a rush of affection, of fondness.

The first time he had Shifted for Newton to see had been full of turmoil, pain and almost humiliation. He had never let anyone see what he looked like.

Never.

And then came Newton.

Even today Hermann remembered the gentle, unhesitating touch. The brush of dexterous fingers over his mottled coat of short fur. He could recall every shift in emotions, the way those green eyes filled with warmth and fascination - and something deeper.

It was the first of many times they were together, Hermann in his canine form, curled up close to his lab partner, his head resting on Newt's thighs, dozing.

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33.

"Damn," Chuck breathed beside him, rolling onto his stomach and watching Raleigh from hooded eyes.

"I am," Raleigh replied, unable to resist touching the handsome man next to him.

Fingers played over old scars and new, tracing and mapping. With his Shifter ability to heal quicker than a normal human being, Chuck's body had turned the terrible injuries into a web of scars, many of them fading already. They would never really disappear – not even their physical differences from the human norm could accomplish that – but he didn't look like he had fought for his very life just a few months ago.

The caresses were calming and teasing in one.

Making him crazy and still relax him into a puddle of goo.

Chuck had no idea how they could still get it up, but he did. And Raleigh did. And shit, it was good every time.

Raleigh smiled and he leaned over, kissing the other man. He gently bit the lower lip as they parted, watching the White's eyes darken.

"Hot," the Ultra murmured.

"What? You fucking me through the mattress? Very hot. And I won't be able to walk for a week."

Chuck chuckled, letting his fingers play along the muscles of Raleigh's back. He briefly circled the bite mark on the neck, drawing a little shiver. That alone had his wolf side rumble.

"You have no idea how hot you are, Ray. You have no idea what you do to me."

"I know what you do to me," Raleigh rumbled, the blue eyes filling with the White's so much darker color.

Chuck turned around, catching him in a hot, open-mouthed kiss, and his hand drew gentle patterns on his skin.

The pattern of Raleigh's own scars was familiar to him, like Braille on human skin, and he groaned into the wet mouth that had a hint of fang as Raleigh's touch became firmer.

x X XX xx

Chuck couldn't say when he had started to think of Raleigh as 'filthy hot'. Sometime before Operation Pitfall. Probably the moment they had come together the first time, outside a verbal fight or flying fists, when he had tumbled into bed with the American Jaeger pilot against his better judgment.

Then again, he couldn't really be held responsible for instinctual behavior.

He couldn't be blamed for following his desires.

And hell, no one could blame him for wanting the White.

Raleigh Becket was undeniably hot. Top to bottom. From that dark blond head to his bare feet. The broad shoulders, the trained body, the muscles and the hard planes, the soft skin, the warmth, the blue eyes and the bright smile.

Chuck loved those eyes and that smile.

He loved them human blue or Shifter White black. He loved the thick fur, the fluffy ears, the big paws and the black nose, the softness of the ruff and even the broad tongue washing over his face in a loving gesture.

But Raleigh was… more than a handsome face and a hot body. Now. He was so much more. Everything about him… it was so much more. Chuck couldn't put into words what he felt when he was with the blond, what he wanted, what he needed, what he craved.

It simply was… everything. Raleigh was everything. There was nothing but perfection and while it sounded cheesy, like a girl movie, it simply was the only way he could think about their relationship.

He had it bad.

Very, very bad.

tbc,,,


	8. Chapter 8

Sorry for the long delay. Not only did my business trip intervene, but Real Life did, too. In form of bad news that kinda wiped my brain for a while. So here's a little more and I hope to get writing again.

34.

"I love you," Raleigh whispered against the sweat-slick, hot skin underneath Chuck's ear.

Chuck's breathing hitched a little. His wolf side rumbled with pleasure.

"Ray…" he murmured and pushed the other man back a little, gazing into those blue eyes.

"I know," was the easy answer. "And it won't be a problem."

Chuck was a wolf. He was Herc's beta. He was pack. He would never leave his father to be completely alone. Even now, Scott hadn't returned and Raleigh, while not clear on what had happened between the brothers, knew that Scott would never be accepted into the pack again.

"It won't? Whites don't have packs and alphas, Ray."

"Really? I didn't know," was the slightly sarcastic reply.

Chuck glared at him and pushed harder. Raleigh let himself fall back onto the bed and the younger pilot settled on top, straddling the narrow hips.

"You would accept my dad as your alpha?"

"Yep."

"Out of love?"

"Out of many things. I respect Herc. He is my superior officer. He's your father and your alpha. I love you, Chuck Hansen, and I know what that entails."

Chuck stared, visibly shaken. "I'm the pack beta," he said.

"You're the pack's only beta, fuzz face."

He snarled. "Don't call me that."

Raleigh grinned, unrepentant and full of mirth. "It's what I love about you. That adorable, fuzzy face…"

Chuck flashed his fangs.

Raleigh just smiled more.

"And I hate your furry white ass."

"You love my ass. You told me so repeatedly."

Chuck groaned, shaking his head. "This sounds so bad."

"Doesn't change that I mean it, Chuck. I love you. I want to be with you. I want… Hopefully I want what you want…" he added softly.

Chuck leaned in, placing his hands left and right of the blond head, and kissed Raleigh.

"Mate," he whispered against the wet lips and nipped at them. "You're my mate…"

Raleigh swallowed and nodded.

"I've got everything because of you," he told the other man. "I've got you. I never knew it, but I needed you. You are part of me."

"Fuck, Ray…" Chuck groaned, all of him, down to his very core, responding to the words.

Blue eyes deepened with emotions.

"I love you," Chuck finally said, voice thick with those emotions, too.

Raleigh's smile was bright and happy and filled with so much warmth, Chuck was rendered speechless. The happiness, it was there. In him. It was everywhere and it was so much more than he had ever hoped to have.

"Mate," Raleigh murmured, nosing against his neck, up his jaw and cheek. "Mine."

"Mine," Chuck answered.

Whatever came next, he wouldn't lose this.

Ever.

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35.

The two months turned into six.

Easily.

Chuck had talked to his alpha and Herc had told him to stay away as long as they needed. The Shatterdome was running just fine without two pilots who were out of a job for now.

"You got a lot of leave left, kid. Take it. And the PPDC won't call on you any time soon."

So they had extended their time in the holiday home for four more weeks, then had rented a car and just driven off, no specific destination in mind.

x X XX xx

It had been a good idea.

Until the storm front hit the east coast.

Torrential rain came down, flooded the streets, made driving impossible. The sky was black as night and it wasn't even three p.m. yet. Lightning raced across the sky and thunder rumbled in its wake.

Raleigh hurried into the motel room they had found. Chuck was already inside, inspecting the very simple lodgings. It had been the only motel on this road. One large bed, a small bathroom, a large window out to the parking lot. It was clean, though the last time they had renovated must have been in the twenties.

Another thunder clap had Chuck jump and Raleigh closed the door. All lamps had been switched on, illuminating the basic accommodations. They had lugged in their respective bags and both were drenched.

"I doubt this will let up any time soon," Raleigh remarked, locking the door with a thought.

They had paid in cash. Before finding the hotel, both men had stocked up on food and drinks at a local diner; everything to go. They wouldn't starve for the night, but the idea of a leisurely dinner had drowned in the flood outside.

Chuck peered out the window. There was nothing but rain and clouds. Someone was hurrying over the parking lot, which was already under water ankle high. The sewers just couldn't take in that much water.

Lightning lit up the smooth features, then the thunder clap followed right away. Chuck flinched a little, shoulders hunching up, and he let the curtain fall closed.

"Afraid of a thunder storm?" Raleigh teased lightly.

"Hardly."

Chuck began to methodically strip off his wet clothes. Raleigh followed, eyes on the lean, pale form. His lover took a towel from the bathroom and dried his hair as best as possible, making it stick up from his head and looking like a little kid. Raleigh couldn't hide his amusement and Chuck gave him a dark look.

"You look perfect," Raleigh murmured and wrapped his arms around the chilled form. "And you're cold."

"The rain's fuckin' cold, Rah-leigh," was the growl.

The storm was now right above them and the rain thundered hard against the window. Raleigh brushed his lips over Chuck' temple, his eyes, his nose, then caught his mouth again.

"I can warm you up," he whispered.

The rumble of thunder was almost physically there now and Chuck wrapped his arms around the slender waist, holding on.

"Not afraid," he stated, almost defiantly.

"Never said so. Personally I think it's a little unnerving."

Raleigh drew mindless patterns and felt Chuck relax into his embrace. Chuck was calm, but a slight tension remained, and he finally pushed him gently to the bed.

He looked at the Australian, then smiled briefly before Shifting. The White poked his nose against Chuck's neck and the other man chuckled, pushing his fingers into the thick ruff.

"Yeah," he murmured and initiated his own Shift.

Smooth. Painless. So easy.

The wolf-koala nuzzled against Raleigh's muzzle, fingers still in the white fur.

Raleigh whined, then licked over one furry ear. Chuck grumbled, then batted at the muzzle and sought out the preferred place: curled up against his partner's side.

Raleigh nuzzled close again, licking the gray face once-twice.

Chuck snuffled a little.

Overhead the thunder shower continued with barely waning strength.

It was how they fell asleep, Raleigh dozing while Chuck slept deeply. The storm only abated in the wee hours of the morning and hard rain was a constant companion throughout sunrise.

The parking lot looked flooded and their car could only be reached by wading through what seemed to be a small lake.

So they took their time leaving. Raleigh didn't mind; neither did Chuck.

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36.

They came back to the Shatterdome and found little had changed. A few more people, a little bit more bustle and noise, and the empty bays were readied for when the new Jaegers would come in.

Tendo shot them a knowing look and Chuck just glared at him. Raleigh grinned broadly, returning the lecherous wink with a laugh.

Chuck was silent, refusing to be baited.

Mako simply raised one elegant eyebrow. Her hair was now streaked red instead of blue and she had apparently experimented with a complicated tattoo pattern.

"Nice, " Raleigh remarked.

She twisted her arm and the tattoo seemed to twist and turn as well, like vines growing over her pale skin. It was all the Shifting she was capable of as a Crossbreed, but it looked amazing. And beautiful.

"Whoa," Raleigh murmured and carefully reached out.

She smiled briefly, allowing his touch, and he chuckled as the skin shifted under his caress.

Mako had tried changing the texture to scales or fur in the past, but it had never worked. Color was not so complicated, thought.

"You have achieved balance," she remarked as Raleigh studied her tattoo.

The blond shrugged, Chuck refused to be goaded into confessing anything. It was probably common knowledge that the Hansen pack beta was now with the resident White. And the way Mako looked at him, she knew it was more. They had known each other long enough.

"The Marshall will want to meet with you. There have been a few changes," Mako went on.

"I can see that." Raleigh nodded at the ID around her neck. "Deputy Marshall Mori."

She raised her eyebrows. "Do not forget, Ranger Beckett."

Chuck grimaced.

"Welcome back," Mako simply said and walked away.

Raleigh laughed softly. "She earned that."

"She's the best," Chuck agreed. "What?" he asked at the look he was given.

"Nothing," was the amiable reply.

Chuck simply glared.

x X XX xx

He was more than a little stunned as he walked into his quarters and found… nothing.

Emptiness.

Two bunk beds, PPDC issue, the requisite wardrobe, one desk.

No personal belongings.

"Uh, Chuck," Raleigh said and he turned to be faced with his mate holding out a piece of paper to him.

505.

A new room number.

"What the bloody fuck…?" Chuck snarled and snatched the paper.

"A level up," Raleigh pointed out helpfully.

"I know my way around the Shatterdome, Raleigh!"

The White smiled warmly and the anger passed, replaced by the grumbling mix of warmth and confusion Chuck always felt. He knew he had a temper. He knew the wolf was always there, on a short fuse, spoiling for a fight because he looked like a vicious little marsupial when Shifted and he wouldn't back down from a fight even then.

Raleigh was… calming.

Whites were like that. Huge, fluffy centers of warmth and protectiveness. Sure, he had the temper if he needed it, but he didn't fly off the handle like a certain Crossbreed.

"C'mon," the blond just said and walked over to the elevators.

x X XX xx

505 was…

"It's a bloody flat!"

"Kinda," Raleigh agreed.

The upper levels had fallen into disuse as the PPDC had abandoned the Shatterdome concept one after another. The Wall hadn't been the answer in the end, though.

The place was a two-bedroom concept, with a nice view over the ocean to the Hong Kong skyline. There was one bedroom with a huge bed, the other with a couch-bed, a bathroom that was twice the size of the small cubicle he had been used to all of his Jaeger pilot life, and a living room. With a tiny kitchen.

Chuck prowled through the rooms, Raleigh on his heels – looking amused. Part of his approved the concept, because it mean the would be with his mate. Another felt a tearing sensation of loss to be somewhere other than with his alpha.

Raleigh trapped him against the wall and nosed against his temple.

"Raleigh…"

There was a soft huff, more White than human. "I know."

"It's… It's nothing against you…"

"I know."

Chuck was a wolf. He was used to pack, to an alpha.

Raleigh's nature ran along the familial bonds that Whites cut when they found their own family after growing into adulthood. It was so much easier for him than for the wolf koala.

"508."

"Wha…?"

"508."

"I heard you the first time, Becket. What's 508?"

"The quarters across from ours. Where the Marshall of the Shatterdome has taken up residence."

Chuck pushed at the broad chest and Raleigh stepped back a little, smiling openly. Without a word he stalked over to the door, pulled it open, and glared at the door across from them.

508.

The Marshall's new quarters. His alpha's. His father's.

Something unfurled inside him; something that had been so tightly coiled, it had been almost painful.

They might no longer share a place to sleep out of necessity, but they were still close.

Chuck felt himself breathe easier all of a sudden.

tbc...


	9. Chapter 9

37.

Six months out of the Shatterdome and Raleigh felt like he needed to map everything anew. He wasn't as territorial as an alpha werewolf. He simply wanted to get to know the new-arrivals and check out that had changed.

Even if it was in the middle of the night.

Right now, sleep didn't seem so enticing.

He found himself wandering around, exploring.

And he ended up in the Kaiju Labs, which had grown in size in the past months.

Newt and Hermann were still the lead scientists when it came to the Anteverse, the Breach and the Kaijus. They had a whole team of scientists flocking around them, which was deemed necessary and important by the PPDC.

Whatever body part had been recovered, discovered or washed ashore from the giant monsters had been brought here. There were numerous containers with unidentifiable remains.

Organs, skin, bones, whatever Newton had been able to get his hands on. It was a lot and there was still new stuff coming in. About twenty people worked on identifying what the pieces were, trying to sort them by Kaiju.

Raleigh stood between the storage containers, studying the remains of the things he had fought, the creatures he had slain. There was no smell; it was all tightly sealed.

He finally moved on, silent, almost like a shadow, cataloguing the new lay-out, until he reached the gapingly empty Jaeger bay.

Cavernous, larger than life, echoing with the work done on the multitude of scaffolding everywhere. There were always workers here, day or night. No new Jaeger, but the work went on.

Raleigh stopped briefly in the bay where Gipsy had been, a tightness in his chest refusing to abate.

She was completely gone now.

Obliterated.

Sacrificed.

This time it had been for good.

Like so many others, Gipsy wouldn't return.

Like Striker.

Yancy

Sasha and Aleksis.

The Wei Triplets.

Stacker.

Raleigh sighed and scrubbed a hand over his tired face.

Coming back into the Shatterdome had started the sleepness nights again. Well, he got a little sleep, but it wasn't as good as it had been when he had been on vacation with Chuck.

Maybe he should try sleeping again. Six months of a civilian life were over and while Raleigh had no idea what his future would be like, he knew it would be with Chuck.

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38.

If Chuck had been anyone but the man he was, the Ultra he was, he would probably have been embarrassed, close to mortified, and never talked about it again.

As it was, that wasn't him. He was the son of an alpha werewolf. He was part wolf himself. He was the beta of the Hansen pack. Even with a mate, who happened to be a White and not a pack animal, he was still part of Herc's pack and that was deeply ingrained in his nature.

And no one would dare to comment on the fact that the wolf-koala Shifter was currently in his Shifted form, happily curled up against the incredibly huge ginger werewolf in the alpha's quarters, content and warm and dozing.

Not that anyone outside the two Hansens would dare to enter the alpha's quarters anyway.

Raleigh, maybe.

But he wouldn't.

He was wise enough, knowledgeable enough, to not follow his mate.

x X XX xx x

Herc watched the ginger and gray form snuggled against his side. Chuck smelled and looked healthy; happy.

Content.

Balanced and complete.

He hadn't lost a son; he had gained a pack. So much more than before.

Maybe he wouldn't have any grandkids running around, the werewolf gene spreading into the future, but there were enough wolves out there. Their Shifter forms wouldn't disappear.

He buried his nose against the warm bundle of gray fur.

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39.

Music could be heard from a corner of the gigantic workshop that was the Jaeger bay. With the arrival of three new old Jaegers from Oblivion Bay, the work crews were back in business. The shells were there, but the upgrades, refits and reconstruction according to the new plans that had been drawn up meant that each Jaeger would be something completely new by the end of it.

Chuck was there.

In the middle.

And he enjoyed himself immensely.

Raleigh watched him, dressed in khakis and work boots, the gray shirt streaked with machine oil, grime and whatnot, and he smiled.

His mate looked right at home where he was, in the middle of the Shatterdome, with Jaeger parts around him, the Jaeger herself towering over it all.

Yes, Chuck enjoyed mechanical work and he was very, very good at it. He knew the inner workings of his Jaeger inside out.

Striker Eureka had been his baby and he had grown up around the massive machines, learning from the Jaeger mechanics, soaking up knowledge like a sponge.

Now he was once again one of them.

Herc had talked with them both long and hard. Not just as their alpha and Chuck's father, but also as the Marshall of the Shatterdome. Mako was his second and would remain deputy. Raleigh and Chuck were the only available pilots and should they want to try a Drift, Herc wouldn't stand in their way.

Raleigh would oversee their training.

He had been slightly floored.

Because he had been out of the game for five years and one successful Op didn't mean he was instructor material.

Apparently he was.

Herc believed so.

So he would give it a try.

Chuck was in charge of Jaeger tech together with Tendo, who handled the LOCCENT angle. He might be young and sometimes a bit rash or hot-headed, but he knew what he was talking about.

He held the respect of the J-Techs. He was one of them.

Chuck looked up from where he was checking a leg unit coupling and gave Raleigh a smile. He needed a shave. Probably a shower, too. But he looked relaxed and happy.

Happy was what Raleigh wanted.

"Heya."

"Hey," Raleigh replied. "Busy?"

Chuck wiped his hands and frowned a little. "Still doing that," he commented.

"Huh?"

"Thinking. About what my dad said to you about heading the training and pilot selection."

He shrugged.

Chuck rolled his eyes. "You really expect pep talk from me or do you want a kick in the ass?"

Raleigh chuckled. "Probably both. I'm not sure I'm the best choice."

"How about: right now you're all we got? That better?"

"Yes and no."

Chuck flung the dirty rag at him and Raleigh caught it easily. "You're such an ass, Becket. You can do this just like all of us can do their jobs. We're fucking heroes, doing our job, and we'll continue doing our job. The PPDC got their collective heads out of their asses. They'll keep this operation running. They know it won't be the end, even if a new attack might not happen in our lifetimes."

"So we train the future generation," Raleigh echoed what the officials had told them.

"Got it in one. You kick their asses into shape. The guy who Drifted solo. The guy who went through The Breach and came back to have nightmares about it."

Chuck looked at him, face reflecting determination and something softer. Something that ended in him pulling Raleigh into a quick, hard kiss.

"You're that guy. My mate. Pack. And you're the only one for the job," he repeated, poking Raleigh in the chest with an oil-smudged finger.

It left a trace. Like he now had it smeared on one cheek, too.

"Is that the pep talk or the ass kicking?"

Chuck grinned. "Both. Now go and bother someone else, or help me."

"Whatcha doing?"

"Recalibrations. Interested?"

Raleigh shrugged. "Sure."

It was better than prowling restlessly around the Shatterdome, thinking, evading Mako's frowns and Newt's Kaiju parts.

Trying to forget his nightmares.

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40.

Matching in the Kwoon was like a dance. It was balance and mirroring, it was achieving a unity that co-pilots needed to Drift, and it was a harmony felt by both participants. The goal was to forge an ideal partnership between the Rangers.

The Kwoon was never a confrontation, a battle to beat an opponent, to win. It was a way to push both participants to their physical and mental limits. There had been matches lasting up to fourteen hours or more.

Chuck had always felt that harmony with Herc. In their very first Kwoon match they had been better than any set of new pilots should be.

Eight hours.

It had been close to eight hours and he had been only sixteen.

He had been able to anticipate his alpha's moves, matching them, dancing in perfect mirror image, and their strength had shown from the first clash of staffs. Each fighting style they had tried, Greco-Roman/Sumo wrestling, Muay Thai, Krav Maga and boxing, had been nothing but an ideal match.

x X XX xx x

With Mako, there was a certain match, but it wasn't perfect. Chuck could train with her and he respected her skills. She was good, she had a perfect Drop record, and while she and Raleigh had had their problems, they had worked out.

He had yet to go up against his mate.

Part of him was itching to do so.

Another part wasn't so sure it was a good idea.

Mako swiped at his feet and he evaded the move, exhaling sharply.

She raised one perfect eyebrow.

"Your mind is not where it should be, Chuck Hansen."

He rotated his shoulders, feeling sweat trickle between his shoulder blades.

They had been at this for an hour and he was just getting warmed up. Chuck loved a good work-out.

He took a stance again and cocked his head a little, then smiled, letting the predator side of his Ultra Crossbreed bleed through.

Mako chuckled, mirroring his stance.

It was on to round five.

tbc...


	10. Chapter 10

Notes:

Okay, so apologies are in order. Real Life threw me a few curveballs. Then I got into a bad case of writer's block and wrote hardly a sentence in two weeks.  
But I finished it! Yes! Apologies again to all the readers waiting for this chapter. Just be assured that I never abandon a fic I started posting. Never!

41.

"You're thinking about it."

Raleigh turned his head and smile at his mate. Chuck sauntered up to him, all grace and ease and loose limbs. He looked freshly showered and shaved, smelling of aftershave and shampoo, which told Raleigh he had just come out of the Kwoon.

Chuck leaned his lower arms onto the rail that guarded the gallery overlooking the Jaeger bay.

"You want to drive one of them again."

Raleigh gave an easy shrug. He was a Ranger. It was in his blood.

"You?"

"Could be convinced, yeah."

He huffed a laugh. "Right."

As if Chuck needed any convincing. He was a pilot through and through. He had grown up in a Conn-Pod, he knew every Jaeger that had come before Striker Eureka, and he had known Striker inside out.

Their shoulders brushed as Raleigh shifted a little closer. "You want to," he simply stated.

Chuck's eyes were on the workers welding armor plating and hammering out dents and bruises. Mako was already itching to get going with the refitting.

She was a genius when it came to outfitting relics with new tech.

Gipsy Danger.

'Nuff said.

Chuck knew when to step back and watch genius at work. She was an impressive woman, always had been, and as deputy she was involved in every little step.

"They're thinking about establishing perimeter guards," Chuck said, voice thoughtful. "To explore the Breach. To help build a surveillance station down there. Hermann's been very vocal about the likelihood of this happening again. The Precursors were here before and he believes they will be back if given time. Rebuild what we destroyed, then open another gateway."

"Might take a while."

A shrug. "I got nothing better to do. I'm actually free for the rest of my life."

Raleigh leaned a little closer. "Yeah. With our skill set, nothing else we're useful for."

"Hey, you can build walls," Chuck teased.

"I can build walls," he agreed.

"And I bet you can knit."

Raleigh chuckled. "Not enough to make a job out of it."

The wolf-koala grinned a little. "My old man thinks we could drive a Jaeger together."

Chuck's voice was almost too casual.

Raleigh watched the Ultra, noticed the fine lines of tension. They had never faced each other in the Kwoon, but knowing what they were now, Herc might have a point.

"Want to try?" he asked softly.

Chuck's eyes were intense, a touch of wolf to them. "Want to get your ass handed to you?" he challenged.

Raleigh chuckled softly. "You're ever the optimistic."

"Hey, I'm the best. You're just the washed-up has-been."

Chuck's eyes reflected the wolf and the White in Raleigh responded to the challenge.

"You're so full of yourself, Hansen."

"I just know I'm good."

Raleigh leaned in close and Chuck let himself get pushed back a little, then his partner kissed him, hard and intense, both men dominant but not fighting to overpower the other.

When they parted, Raleigh was breathing hard, eyes flashing with his Shifter side.

"Fuck," Chuck groaned.

"It's an option."

"That a promise?"

Raleigh grinned, fangs showing just a little.

Chuck was a goner.

x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx

42.

Kwoon sessions were intense between them, a match between two very different characters and personalities.

Long.

Sometimes intimate in a way that wasn't sexual.

Sometimes powerful and close to unmatchable by anyone not a Shifter of their caliber. Sometimes more like a dance, well-coordinated and perfectly mirroring the other.

Both Chuck and Raleigh were breathing hard, shirts stained with sweat, but their spirit was unbroken, their harmonic styles not clashing.

x X XX xx

Mako nodded her approval, holding her tablet and entering notes.

x X XX xx

Herc just raised his brows in a blatant 'told you so'. He stood to one side, powerful arms crossed in front of his chest, the alpha clearly making a statement.

x X XX xx

Some of the new recruits were openly gaping.

x X XX xx

Raleigh had yet to accept the position Herc had offered, but after today's display no one would have any doubts as to his capability to do it.

x X XX xx

Their first Drift was done in a simulated environment.

x X XX xx

_Nothing between them. No lies, no truths, just them._

_Everything was open._

_Chuck had felt this only once before, with his alpha, and it had been breathtaking and scary in one._

_Too young to be considered a pilot under different, not so desperate circumstances, Chuck had moved in sync with his alpha like he had never dreamed of doing._

_They had been perfect._

_They had been one._

_Like Yancy and Raleigh._

_The same perfection, the trust and the unity. He had felt it all in that moment they were together in the simulation, and he felt-heard-tasted everything that was Raleigh Becket._

_He knew Raleigh felt-heard-tasted the same._

_The two so very different men, the bonded mates, the Shifters… Chuck turned to the surreal representation of Raleigh next to him, standing in the middle of a snowfield, and he watched Gipsy Danger crash._

_He felt the emotional black hole, felt the brotherly bond as a ragged, sharp-edged wreckage, heavy on his mate's mind._

_He saw the pain._

_He tasted the tears._

_He experienced the raw desperation._

_The sleeplessness._

_The nightmares._

_Loneliness._

_And it became one with his own pain and fear of his mother's death. Of losing everything._

_Of being different from the alpha werewolf who was his father._

_Acceptance._

_Love._

_Like his father's._

_And he was his Shifted self, sitting in the snowfield, gazing at a headstone._

_Raleigh was next to him, the White silent and such a strong presence, it was calming the rocky sea around them._

_Acceptance._

_Chuck's taloned paws curled into the thick fur._

_Raleigh looked at him, black eyes filled with emotions that flowed freely between them._

x X XX xx

The connection between them was real, the Conn-Pod was a real life model, but the Jaeger was simply a figment, a computer simulation.

It proved a point, though.

Raleigh and Chuck worked.

Not that Herc had ever had any doubt; at least after both men had come back from their six months of off time.

Something had clicked between them, had smoothed out the rougher edges, had made them more aware of each other. It wasn't just the fact that Raleigh was Chuck's chosen mate. That was just one tiny aspect.

Almost everything had changed.

Subtly. Slowly. But it had.

x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx

43.

He wasn't stupid.

He wasn't an oblivious bastard, an arrogant, egotistical hotshot who wasn't aware of what was going on around him.

Yes, Chuck Hansen could be all that – egotistical, arrogant and a bastard – but not when it came to the man next to him in bed. Raleigh had become more than a rival or a perceived threat to a mission's success. He had grown into so much more.

So no, he wasn't an idiot. He had eyes. He had instincts that he listened to.

Chuck had seen it, had felt it, and he had acted.

Curling up with his mate, he listened to the soft breaths. Raleigh was deeply asleep, almost close to exhausted because of a week spent hardly sleeping at all.

Chuck had been to Canberra, accompanying the Marshall to meet with some PPDC officials. It had been a long, mind-numbing meeting and Chuck had bitched about it whenever he and his alpha had been alone.

Now he knew that while they had been gone, Raleigh had slept little and spent the nights prowling around the Shatterdome.

Gottlieb had told him when Chuck had run into him. Hermann had actually actively sought him out to talk to him. The Shifter had run into Raleigh regularly at night. Hermann had started to come out of his shell and stretch his four legs, always at night, usually in company of Newton, which was when they met Raleigh.

Raleigh needed him, Chuck had come to realize. To relax, to sleep, to let go.

So Chuck was here.

x X XX xx

"We can leave," Chuck said.

Raleigh looked at him, warm and relaxed and kind of mellow in his arms. "Leave?"

"Go somewhere else. Not here. Somewhere outside. Away from… all of this."

Raleigh was silent, then pushed himself up and looked at the other Shifter. "No."

"You don't sleep all too well here."

"I'm okay."

"You're not."

The White sighed explosively. "I need some time."

"You don't want to leave?"

"No. Your pack… our pack… is here. It helps."

Chuck smiled and reached out to pulled Raleigh into a soft brush of lips against lips. "You don't have to sacrifice yourself for me."

"I'm not. It really does help. It's not what I'm used to, but it's… nice." He smiled slightly, fingers sliding into the short, ginger hair. "Really nice."

Chuck pushed him back down onto the mattress and settled over him, sealing their lips together. Raleigh's hands were caressing over his skin.

x X XX xx

His sleeping troubles got better.

Slowly.

Herc…. the alpha… helped.

The older man was simply there, like a rock in the sea. He radiated a calmness, a strength, that Raleigh found he needed.

Raleigh wasn't used to a pack and an alpha, but the concept was slowly growing on him. Herc was his commanding officer and he was his alpha through Chuck.

Prowling around the Shatterdome at night, together with Chuck and Herc, all of them Shifted, helped.

Letting his mind clear of everything but the instinct deep inside helped.

Chuck helped.

So close, so supportive.

It all helped.

He wasn't completely broken, just a little more fractured than most.

x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx

44.

The PPDC called in their new command crew a few weeks later.

To make it official.

With speeches and signatures and dress uniforms.

It was incredibly boring.

x X XX xx

Mako was her regal self, now sporting the official markings of a deputy Marshall, next to her superior officer, Herc Hansen. Herc's uniform was spotless, fit him like a glove, and the alpha radiated calm, control and power.

Chuck was a mess inside, a proud mess, but a mess, and he had fought his hair for an hour until he had given up. It was a mess like the rest of himself. As Herc's beta it was his place with his alpha to be here.

Raleigh in his dress uniform looked… devastating. Chuck had to hold on not to push his mate against the next available wall, or other surface, and show him just how bloody edible he looked.

x X XX xx

When they were finally free of the mind-numbing bureaucratics – Herc had to sit in with Mako for a little while longer to finalize what had been running smoothly for months without PPDC intereference, namely the Hong Kong Shatterdome – Chuck did take advantage of Raleigh.

In a good way.

And with no protest from his mate.

Fuck, he looked good in uniform.

And out of it.

x X XX xx

Chuck had never known that he could have it so bad for another man.

Now he knew.

He wasn't really ashamed of it either.

x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx

45.

Herc Hansen had no idea when his pack had started to grow into something more than himself and his son.

Yes, there had been Stacker and Mako. There had been the team around Striker Eureka. But they had never felt like real pack. They had been a family of some kind. The alpha had trusted them, but the bond hadn't been there.

Then he had nearly lost his son.

He had lost his oldest friend.

He had lost too many comrades in arms, too many friends, too many he had considered an extension of his family.

Werewolf packs were usually… wolves. With a few exceptions. Like wolf koalas.

He smiled to himself as he walked down the Shatterdome, listening to the bustle around him.

Sometimes, yes, sometimes dominant werewolf genes didn't take.

Chuck was a prime example of the dominance of the wolf and the failure to those genes to present in a physical wolf form as well.

But his alpha instincts were spot on and Chuck was his beta, was pack.

Now the pack had apparently been extended.

There was a White, who happened to be his beta's mate. Raleigh had finally decided to get his head out of his ass, accept responsibility for more than himself, and Herc had established him as the lead pilot. 'Commander', some called him. It usually got them a growl and a flash of Shifter eyes.

He also slept better, accepted the help the alpha werewolf represented, and Chuck was more at ease now, too.

Then there was Mako, who had already been considered extended pack and was now so much closer, his deputy and second in the Shatterdome. She wasn't the pack beta, but that wasn't a problem. Werewolves had no problem with pack and outside hierarchies. The alpha commanded her loyalty in both worlds.

Herc had also found that his wolf side had included Hermann and Newton, one a Shifter, one not. Hermann had grimaced when he had discovered his Shifter side responding more and more to the calming alpha presence. Newt claimed that the structured pack gave Gottlieb more focus, which was scary, and that he had started to relax a little.

Well, if he did really relax, Herc couldn't see it, but he did catch the painted dog more and more now. Hermann let himself respond to something he had suppressed for too long and it was doing him a world of good.

In the two months Chuck and Raleigh had been gone, the two K-scientists had been vital and important in Herc's endeavor to keep Hong Kong operational. The Breach might be closed, but he doubted Gipsy's sacrifice had destroyed the so-called Anteverse.

The Precursors might be back.

If not today, if not tomorrow, then maybe in a few years time.

The Shatterdome would stay open and fully operational. New Jaegers would be funded. It meant that more of the decommissioned ones that had been shipped off to Oblivion Bay would be restored. Three more Shatterdomes were scheduled to open within the next six months.

He entered LOCCENT and nodded at Tendo, who was snarfing down his donut and raised his coffee mug in greeting.

He was overseeing the updates on LOCCENT, which meant sitting with a bunch of IT guys and technicians, in the middle of what looked like an explosion of cables, boards, chips and metal plating.

"We're on schedule," he told Herc without the Marshall even asking. "Drop's on time."

"Good."

Beta White was ready. She would go down to the Breach and do a test run, then resurface to get checked and the performance evaluated. It would be Chuck and Raleigh's first real Drop. Herc didn't doubt they would be good together.

They already were.

He hid a smile and gave Tendo a last nod, then went on his usual round. The 'prowl' Chuck called it with a grin. The alpha checking out his territory.

x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx x X XX xx

46.

Science had determined that about 14.5 % of the world's population were Shifters.

The war against the Kaijus had decimated the world's population and the Shifter percentage had grown. Despite the fact that the PPDC had employed mostly Shifters as Jaeger pilots, that most of them had died, their death had been of little impact to the overall population of genetically different humans.

Millions had died throughout the attacks, be it through the Kaiju itself, the Kaiju Blue or when the nuclear strikes in the early days had sacrificed people to kill the trespassers from another world.

Chuck knew he had been one of the lucky ones. He had survived. He had healed. He had found his mate and his pack was growing. He had a strong alpha, who he respected and loved, and he had a purpose.

Not just as a Jaeger pilot.

He was more than that. They all were.

Sitting outside, overlooking the bay, he breathed in the air, almost tasting the ocean.

It was good to be alive.

Good to have family and pack… Raleigh…

He smiled a little to himself.

Yes, Raleigh.

They were doing really well. Raleigh was finally sleeping through the night, even here in the Shatterdome. He was more relaxed, laid back, at ease. He enjoyed his new role as the lead pilot, the one in command of the Jaeger pilots and the prospective new Rangers coming in to train.

"Hey, kid."

Chuck looked at his alpha, nodding a greeting. "Hey there, old man."

"Don't call me that," was the mild rebuke, but the light in the blue eyes told another story.

Herc settled down beside him, eyes on the bay.

It was an easy companionship and Chuck found himself mirroring his father's pose, felt his heartbeat slow, falling in sync with his alpha's as it always did when they were together and there was nothing and no one to fight.

It was the wolf inside him. It was his Shifter heritage and he wasn't ashamed of seeking the closeness.

Being pack was like Drifting.

Yes, he was one of the lucky ones.

x X XX xx

Herc smiled as his son leaned against him, eyes closed, enjoying the moment of silence and absolute peace.

He did so, too.

The Shift didn't come as a surprise and Herc let the koala curl up against him, firmly planted in the alpha's lap.

It was nothing new.

Actually, it was achingly familiar.

Family.

He buried his fingers into the gray fur with the ginger touches, eyes on the bay as the sun set.


End file.
